Customer Reviews

Angelina Ballerina

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

This series is wonderful literature for kids! The pictures are excellent and fit the story well. I read it to my kids now and they really love it. I think that they like Angelina Ballerina more than the all-famous Bernstein Bears! I recommend this series to everybody who enjoys good literature!!!!

I wanted to let everyone know that this "special" 25th edition, really isn't all that special after all. The book jacket does have a special glitter on it that wasn't in the original. However, with my 2 year old, the book jackets quickly are taken off of books and put away for safe keeping.

Underneath the jacket, the main cover is rather washed out with no vivid colors and no glitter. Aside from a small 25 year logo in the upper right hand corner of the book, there isn't any other special features that I could see.

Also, throughout the book, the illustrations appear to be not as vivid in color as the older one we were constantly checking out from the library. It is close, but not quite as vibrant. And the last page has sort of strong orange overtones as if the printing was a little off. Probably not noticable if you hadn't seen another copy, but disappointing to me because I am so familiar with the older library edition.

It is printed in China and you can tell it from the cheap quality of the cover and not as vivid illustrations as the older library edition.

Still a wonderful book. However I would recommend trying to get the regular edition and not the 25th edition. But if the regular edition or a used copy of the regular edition in good condition is not available, then get this one. All young girls love to read this over and over and having your own copy is great.

beautifully illustrated, heartwarming childrens stories. Even though the Angelina stories are geared towards girls, my little boy, at 8, enjoyed these as well, especially when mom read to him. These are good stories to read to your child at bedtime.

The artwork is detailed and delightful to look at-you'll see new things each time you look, and children love that that every scene is filled with many little mice.

This Angelina story deals our hopes and dreams(in Angelina's case constant dancing)-to follow your dreams but at the same time know there is a time and place for fun, and a time to do your work. Each book is filled with wonderful life lessons told in a gentle, non preachy way.

I highly recommend this series for any child.
5 stars!

My daughter has fallen in love with this book and the character of Angelina so quickly. It is a wonderful book with beautiful illustrations and we enjoy reading it so much. My daughter was already interested in ballet but this book has brought her imagination to a new level. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a young girl.

I think that Angelina inspires young dancers to fulfill their dreams. She is spunky and delightful. It's the perfect little gift for a young child. They don't have to be interested in ballet to enjoy this book. I am a pre-professional ballet dancer. This book means a lot to me for it was my favorite book when I was younger and it still is one of my favorites.

I ordered this book to read at my daughter's ballerina birthday party. She was turning 4. It was perfect. Such a cute story with nice art. It is the only one we have in the series but I would be interested in ordering more from this author.

Themes: Ambition, Talent, Respect
Content areas: Language: dialogue/quotations, picture clues, prediction, making connections.

A most charming story (preK - 2nd grade) about Angelina the little white mouse who could think of nothing else other than to be a ballerina. The problem being that Angelina doesn't follow through with her chores, or schoolwork because she's always dancing and dreaming of being a famous ballerina. Her energy and dedication is channeled appropriately when her parents wisely enroll her in a dance class. Thus starts the popular Angelina Ballerina series (20 books), which was followed by TV and related products. Craig's illustrations are full of detail and expression, with a softness in her palette that brings a warmth and charm to the story.

Holabird's story is a perfect way to discuss responsible goal setting. In a world where parents too often think constant motion through endless classes and sports activities somehow is good parenting, Angelina is there to bring perspective. Obsessing too much on any one thing isn't healthy; nor is the constant need to be on the move. A targeted class of instruction must be balanced with time to dream, and develop one's imagination. Angelina finds that balance and reaches her goals because of it.

Madame Alexander, Angelina Ballerina Cloth Doll, Angelina Ballerina Collection, Play Alexander Collection - 18"