Ellie and the Bunheads [Paperback]

Sally Warner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 1998

The author of the highly acclaimed Dog Years and Some Friend returns with a timely look at the highly competitive world of professional dance.  Thirteen-year-old Ellie Lane isn't sure she's cut out to be a bunhead--one of those girls with their hair tightly knotted in a bun and leg-warmers fashionably scrunched around their ankles. She loves to dance but with ballet class every afternoon there's hardly any time to see her friends or pursue other interests. Competition is so intense that her best friend has a private coach and another is seeing a shrink. And then there's her mother who's pressuring her to audition for the prestigious Philadelphia Dance Theater. It's just too much!  But by the time audition day arrives, Ellie finds a way to take her life and its decisions into her own hands. Dealing frankly but humorously with real-life issues like self-esteem, depression, parental problems, and young love, Sally Warner proves once again that she has her finger squarely on the pulse of the middle-grade reader.  


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As if peer pressure isn't enough, Ellie gets it from her mother and ballet teacher, too. "Suck in some of that hamburger, Ellie." "Don't eat any junk ... you know you don't want any pimples during your audition." If Ellie has to eat her mother's fat-free lasagna again, she thinks she'll puke! Truth is, Ellie is tired of sacrificing after-school fun, friends, and pizza for a chance in the prestigious Philadelphia Dance Theater. She may be one of the best bunheads (ballet dancers) in Mrs. Hawkins's class, but she's not sure if she wants to give up a normal teenage life in order to be a professional dancer. If everyone else would stop offering advice and yelling expectations at her, maybe--just maybe--Ellie could decide what to do for herself! Charming, delightful, and filled with great dialogue, this novel is sure to resonate with girls twirling into their early teenage years. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

From the author of The Indian in the Cupboard comes a gleeful romp with a pair of twins: one good and one evil. "The expansive storytelling and comic exaggeration produce high kid appeal," said PW. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (May 19, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679890971
• ISBN-13: 978-0679890973
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,859,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BIOGRAPHY OF SALLY WARNER

Sally Warner was born in New York City and grew up in Connecticut and California, where her family moved when she was eight years old. She attended public schools in Pasadena. She then received her B.A. degree from Scripps College in Claremont, California, and her B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in fine arts from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles.

Sally Warner worked as an artist (primarily charcoal drawings) for many years, exhibiting her work at galleries, small museums, colleges, and universities across the country. Her drawings are in many private collections. She also taught art education for ten years at Pasadena City College. Her teaching led her to write her first non-fiction book for adults, ENCOURAGING THE ARTIST IN YOUR CHILD, in 1989. This book sold more than 20,000 copies. Another of her non-fiction books for adults, MAKING ROOM FOR MAKING ART (1994), is still in print and doing well.

Sally Warner then began writing fiction for young readers. Her first novel, DOG YEARS (1995), has almost 90,000 copies--in Italy! Sally Warner did the cartoons herself. IT'S ONLY TEMPORARY, another novel she has illustrated--with nearly 100 drawings---was published in 2008 and is for ages 8--12.

To date, Sally Warner has had 23 novels published, mostly for ages 8--12. One of her most popular books so far was SORT OF FOREVER (1998, still available through Scholastic Book Club), which has sold more than 220,000 copies! She also writes for younger readers, ages 7+; the books in her current funny series for Viking (ONLY EMMA, NOT-SO-WEIRD EMMA, SUPER EMMA, BEST FRIEND EMMA, and EXCELLENT EMMA) have been getting lots of positive attention. At least 3 ELLRAY JAKES books will be coming out in the next few years as well.

Sally Warner and her husband live in Southern California. She has four step-daughters, five step-grandchildren, and two sons who both have active careers in the arts: dance/choreography/teaching, and computer generated imagery for television and movies.

For photos, cartoons, and more information on her books: www.sallywarner.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Darn Good!, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ellie and the Bunheads (Hardcover)

I love ballet and love reading about it. This fiction portrayal of what ballet is like and how you live when are training to become a ballerina is pretty close to what it's actually like. Not many stories about ballet are very realistic, but this one is! This book was pretty darn good. Although I read this book in third grade, I remember it really well now as an ingoing seventh grader and growing ballerina!