The Cranky Ballerina by E. Gravel

Abstract

Gravel, Elise. The Cranky Ballerina.  Katherine Tegen Books-Harper Collins Publishers, 2016.

Ada is a cranky ballerina – she doesn’t like ballet! This picture book is written to encourage children to use their abilities in activities they enjoy, even though they may feel upset about not being good at activities in which their parents have enrolled them. The illustrations are attractive with many bright colors and details included, such as funny items or posters. Although they are not related to the dialogue or plot, children will enjoy spotting these fun details. The words change in size, color, font, and shape. This adds interest and accentuates the characters’ emotions. Because children aged 4 to 8, the intended audience, may have been enrolled by their parents in extra-curricular activities that they did not enjoy, they may be able to relate to this story.

 Not only does this story encourage children to refocus their negative emotions into finding activities they enjoy, but it can also be encouraging for parents. It can help parents to identify activities that will use a child’s apparent weaknesses as strengths and, in turn, improve the child’s mood. Other adults, such as teachers and instructors, will be reminded that every child has different strengths and abilities and that problems that they observe may be arising due to incompatible environments and activities.

The characters portrayed as the ballet teacher and karate teacher are examples of patient and encouraging adults. The ballet teacher repeatedly tries to help Ada learn ballet, and the karate teacher compliments Ada on her spins and kicks. The ballet terms used, such as “plié”, “jetés”, and “arabesques”, would likely only be understood by children who have had ballet classes. Simple vocabulary, such as “spins” or “jumps” could have been used to make it easier to understand for children without prior knowledge in ballet. Overall, though, this picture book can be a good resource for teachers or parents and would be an interesting and a fun read for children. It should be available in school and public libraries.

Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4
Reviewer: Stephanie Gil

Stephanie Gil is a University of Alberta student of linguistics who enjoys working with children and new immigrants. She spent a year teaching English as a Second Language in Japan to kindergarten and junior high school students.