Angelina Ballerina [Hardcover]

Katharine Holabird (Author), Helen Craig (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 1988 | Series: Angelina Ballerina

Illus. in full color. Angelina is so busy dancing that she does nothing else. Her parents are in despair until they send her to ballet school.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Holabird's sweet-dreams-to-stardom story can't miss. It's all of a light-hearted, light-footed piece."--Kirkus.

From the Inside Flap

Illus. in full color. Angelina is so busy dancing that she does nothing else. Her parents are in despair until they send her to ballet school.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1st edition (December 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517550830
• ISBN-13: 978-0517550830
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,550,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for any aspiring ballerina, August 1, 2002

By 

Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Angelina Ballerina (Hardcover)

Katharine Holabird's "Angelina Ballerina" is fun for any aspiring ballerina. Angelina Mouseling--a wee white mouse--loves to dance, to the exclusion of all other activities. She won't clean her room, she won't help clear the table, she listens to neither her mother or her father because she is dancing, dancing, dancing at every waking moment. Everything changes when her parents recognize that her interest needs to be taken seriously. Mr. and Mrs. Mouseling do just that when they go shopping and come home with--ooooh!--a ballerina's tutu for Angelina to wear.

Shortly thereafter, Angelina begins ballet lessons. Her perseverence pays off and she becomes a famous ballerina. In the interim, however, the attention her parents have paid to her love of ballet pays off in the form of her willingness to do all the things she didn't want to do before, because now she can dance all she likes in ballet class and in recitals.

I agree with the comments that have been made about the subdued sexism here. Angelina is presented as someone who is too fast and too nimble for the boys on the playground, but later in the book--once she has gotten what she wants--she is described as letting the boys catch her after all. It's a jarring note in an otherwise perfectly charming book.

Special mention must be made of Helen Craig's detailed, charming drawings. She doesn't completely anthropomorphize the mouse characters--they are clearly little animals, with anatomically correct limbs and quivering whiskers, but Craig somehow manages to humanize them and make them utterly winsome and dear. All around a very nice book for the aspiring ballerina!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute, December 22, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Angelina Ballerina (Hardcover)

Angelina Mousling loves to dance. Her dances cause her no end of troubles; when they make her late for school, make her crash into things, and so much more. Finally Angelina's father decides that it is time for her to take ballet lessons. This is the story of Angelina, and her path to stardom.

My ten-year-old daughter and I loved this book. The story is quite charming, with Helen Craig's illustrations adding to the book's charm. I must admit that it was a bit beneath my daughter's ability, she read through it in about 10 minutes, but she enjoyed it all the same. Therefore, my daughter and I both recommend this cute book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's one great mouse!!, April 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Angelina Ballerina (Hardcover)

This is by far my daughter's favorite book, and I'm glad. Angelina is a wonderful little girl (mouse) and a great role model. She has a dream, to be a ballerina, and the book is all about her hard work and determination in fulfilling that dream. At the end of the book, you feel the delight of her achievement, and hopefully, go away feeling that you too can achieve the dreams of your heart.