Josephine Wants to Dance [Hardcover]

Jackie French (Author), Bruce Whatley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

The popular wombat’s friend

From the award-winning duo behind the bestselling Diary of a Wombat (the famous wombat even makes an appearance at the ballet complete with a tutu!), Josephine Wants to Dance encourages all readers to never give up and to always dance to their own music.

Josephine loves to dance. She dreams of wearing a pink tutu and silk ballet shoes. But everyone reminds her that kangaroos don’t dance—they hop! Kangaroos don’t wear tutus, and they never wear ballet shoes! So Josephine sneaks into town, where the ballet rehearses, and watches for hours as the dancers spin and swirl and pirouette and curtsy.

But on the day of the ballet performance, the prima ballerina twists her ankle and a new dancer is needed for the lead role, a dancer who can jump higher than all the rest. Will Josephine be able to make her dream of becoming a ballerina come true?

Editorial Reviews

Review

The oft-told story of the stage-struck youngster who saves the show when the star is injured returns in this variation that features a ballet-dancing kangaroo named Josephine. She perseveres in the face of a doubting brother named, of course, Joey, and a giggling audience. It's her ability to twirl and leap and point her toes that finally drives them to clap and cheer. She's a graceful if not beautiful ballerina who practiced her art with other Australian animals but yearned for something more than the outback and found it. The author and illustrator have a number of collaborations behind them, most notably Diary of a Wombat (2003). An entertaining read-aloud that shows off an appealing tutu-clad kangaroo leaping across perfectly pink pages as if she were captured in a series of camera clicks. (Picture book. 4-7) (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jackie French is the author of Diary of a Wombat, also illustrated by Bruce Whatley, and Hitler’s Daughter, winner of the CBC Young Readers Award.

Bruce Whatley is the illustrator of many bestselling picture books, including Noises at Night, Ruthie Bon Bair: Do Not Go to Bed with Wringing Wet Hair, and The Night Before Christmas. He lives in New South Wales, Australia.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810994313
• ISBN-13: 978-0810994317
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 11.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jackie French is a highly esteemed writer for children and adults with more than 100 books to her credit. She lives in Australia with her family and usually one or more wombats. Her web site is www.jackiefrench.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Josephine Wants to Dance, September 21, 2007

By 

Kirsten G. Cutler (Santa Rosa, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Josephine Wants to Dance (Hardcover)

This lovely Australian import created by the award- winning team of Diary of a Wombat (Clarion, 2003) will delight preschool children. Josephine is a Kangaroo who loves to dance and learns her steps from the graceful movements of other animals like brolgas and lyrebirds; their motions are described in evocative similes that stretch the imagination, "she swayed like the lyrebirds as they call to their sweethearts." Her brother Joey loudly tells her, "Kangaroos don't dance" but Josephine ignores him and continues to seek ever more inspiration: Then a ballet company comes to town and Josephine wants to dance "in a pink tutu, with silk ballet shoes." The illustrations express and extend beautifully this humorous and lively tale. Josephine is depicted dancing on her toes and doing pirouettes; her body is always a swirl of motion as she strikes one dramatic pose after another. At one point she hides in a garbage can outside the ballet practice room window so she can learn how to perform the ballet. When Josephine actually performs the ballet on stage, her very attentive and expressive audience is featured in a dynamic and amusing double spread that shows various different people but also includes a sheep and a dog family: the puppy's ears are all that is visible in one chair. The design of this book is lovely from the eye- catching cover that shows Josephine dressed in a tutu and ballet slippers to the many endearing illustrations that stand out beautifully from a warm pink background. The font is easy on the eye and large font size is used for declarations, "I can't dress a kangaroo!" says the costume designer. Enjoy using this book in story times and if you display the bold cover, patrons will snap it off your shelves.

5.0 out of 5 stars Reaching your goals...even if you are a kangaroo!, January 11, 2009

By 

Lindsey Hausauer "lmh86" (North Dakota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Josephine Wants to Dance (Hardcover)

I went to Barnes and Nobel in Australia looking for a great children's book. I came across this book and fell in love with story but didn't want to pay $28 at the store. Josephine the kangaroo wants to be a dancer more than anything but everyone keeps telling that she isn't meant for it...to make a long story she achieves her goals with flying colors. This is a great book and a great lesson for everyone. Enjoy!

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!, December 19, 2007

By 

Reader Views "Reviews, by readers, for readers" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Josephine Wants to Dance (Hardcover)

Reviewed by Olivia Alejandre (age 4) for Reader Views (12/07)

Mom's review / summary:
I love this book! Not only does Josephine follow her dreams to be a ballerina, even though her brother continually tries to discourage her, but she does it through her OWN intuition and initiative! She doesn't wait for someone else to encourage her or help her find a creative solution to becoming a dancer. She goes out and finds a way herself. Wow! Thank you Jackie French!

My daughter Olivia and I had read five new books and I asked her which one was her favorite - she pointed to this one. She connected with the story AND the artwork - that's relatively rare for someone of her age (she just turned 4).

I wish there was more background with the artwork, especially on the pages where Josephine danced on stage. I was hoping that Olivia could get a visual of Josephine being on a stage in front of a crowd and not being scared. She might remember that someday when she is in a recital or concert of some kind. The artwork looked too similar from page to page (minor issue compared to all the positives of this book).

Olivia's review:
"Josephine loves to dance. `Don't dance, Josephine! Kangaroos don't dance; they hop.' Josephine still danced and she danced over her brother. There was a ballet class going and `I am going to go to the ballet class.' Josephine sneaked into the door and the girls in ballet class hurt their legs. There's a kangaroo dancing; that kangaroo can really do ballet. And he makes a dress for Josephine and some slippers. `Come out of there,' said Josephine's brother. `No, I'm going to dance,' said Josephine. She can jump higher than anyone. Last dance was from Josephine."

Some quotes from Olivia about "Josephine Wants to Dance":
"Is Josephine a rat?"

"Pretty." (Josephine dancing)

"She has to try to dance because she's never done it before." [Mom]: "And, what happens if she practices?" [Olivia]: "She gets better. And, then her brother is dancing! And, her brother doesn't have to tell her that anymore."

[Mom]: "What do you think about someone telling you that you can't do something?"
"Mean."

Book received free of charge.