Dream Dancer [Hardcover]

Jill Newsome (Author), Claudio Munoz (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

Lily loves to dance.

She dances everywhere and all the time. She even dances in her dreams.

But one day, Lily is climbing a tree, and she falls. Her leg is broken, and her dreams of becoming a ballerina are shattered...until a small wooden doll gives Lily the hope and inspiration to try to dance again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This husband-and-wife team's (Shadow) second collaboration spotlights a girl who lives for ballet. Lily pirouettes and pli‚s her way through her waking hours and dances in her dreams as well a lighthearted sequence shows her jet‚-ing out of a circus tent, followed by a similarly lightfooted elephant, lion and fox. After she falls from a tree and breaks her leg, Lily is despondent until Grandma buys her a small ballerina doll. The author/artist team leaves it to readers to decide whether it's magic or Lily's own imagination that prompts the doll (whom Lily names Peggy) to dance its way through Lily's recuperation. Peggy lifts the girl's spirits and eases the transition back to dance class. The story will quickly win over any child who loves dolls or dance. Newsome subtly explores the theme of perseverance ("After days and days and weeks and months and nearly a year, the moment came at last when Lily could dance again") as Mu¤oz's spare, eloquent watercolors chronicle Lily's hard work and physical therapy. He captures the graceful arch of an arm and extension of a leg, as well as the emotional underpinnings of the story, and uses lily flowers as an effective recurrent visual motif. Readers will root for Lily right through to her final bravura performance. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3--Lily loves to dance anywhere, anytime. She even dances in her dreams. But one day, she falls from a tree and breaks her leg. She is "like a fish out of water, like a cheetah in a cage." When her grandmother gives her a little dancer doll, Lily names her Peggy and the two become inseparable. For almost a year, the toy dances in Lily's place, until, the child can once again join her ballet class. She is afraid she has forgotten how to dance, but once again, Peggy comes to her rescue. Mu-oz's lively watercolors tell the story of these kindred spirits. The pictures do a wonderful job of conveying the magic of dance and showing the little girl's joy and her pain. But the real magic of the book comes from the story. The determination of this young dancer comes to life in everything that she does-from her daily life to her imaginings to her relationship with Peggy. All of these parts allow for the hope that dreams can come true.
Karen Scott, Valley Intermediate School, Pelham, AL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (March 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060009322
• ISBN-13: 978-0060009328
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,557,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A favorite of my budding ballerina, February 8, 2003

By 

Katherine R. Miller "totally well read chick" (Cota De Caza, CA ,USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dream Dancer (Hardcover)

Dream Dancer has become a night time favorite of my five year old daughter. It's a lovely story of a young dancer who must overcome an injury to dance again. The story is told in a quiet, subtle manner which my daughter and I enjoy. The illustrations are beautiful and capture the real joy which this young lady finds in dance and life. I consider this book a terrific addition to our collection of ballet books which I have started for my daughter.