Customer Reviews

Sugar Plum Ballerinas #1: Plum Fantastic

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful book. The story is engaging and believable, the characters are fully fleshed out, and the illustrations are terrific. Kids will relate to Alexandrea's struggles to adapt to her new life in Harlem, and her efforts to deal with her well-meaning stage mother. Funny and heartwarming, I really cared what happened to Alexandrea and her mother, and I can't wait for the next book in the series. Kudos to Goldberg and her coauthor Deborah Underwood for creating a world kids will want to come back to over and over again!

We got this book as a gift and I have been reading it aloud to my 10 year old boy and 6 year old girl. They love it and can't wait for the next installment to come out next spring! A wonderful, innovative story that is very "real" with a main character that tinged with just the right amount of scarcasm. Tempo is good and the imagery is descriptive enough for those getting used to hearing chapter books aloud.

I learned about this book, authored by Whoopie Goldberg, while the
watching the "View" and decided to give it a try.
This is a wonderful story that my granddaughter just loves. She is now four, knows the characters by name and though she can read some, asks me to read from the book all the time.
Mike Colgan

This is an excellent book for a young girl. It teaches self-confidence and helps understand that everyone is different, but also very much alike.

I read this book with my 5 year old daughter. It was a fun easy read, her first chapter book. It had just enough pictures to keep her interested while at the same time introducing her to the way chapter books work. The characters were all very relatable, they even brought me back to younger days and all the struggles and feelings girls feel when growing up. We can't wait for the next installment to come out!

I bought the first two books of this wonderful series before my daughter actually started reading a couple years ago. Now that she is in the first grade, this series has helped to give her an excitement for reading that I had when I was young reading Judy Blume. Hurray Ms. Whoopi for giving us some books for our little girls to see themselves in. The Sugar Plum Sisters are a very recognizable group of young girls with real life issues. My daughter absolutely loves this series and we can't wait for the next book to come out! The stories are wonderful and believable. Definitely food for thought for young minds. If you don't have any children of your own, please consider buying for someone elses' child!! You are the best Ms. Whoopi and thank you AGAIN!

My daughter received this book for Christmas. She is six years old and we are reading it together. It is so good. It reminds me of being a kid growing up. The kids in the book tease each other and my daughter and I talk about the book. My daughter does not like to practice reading. However, she laughed out loud at Brenda talking backward and Tiara girl highmindedness. It is the first time since she has begun reading that she has been excited about a book.

I would never have bought a book written by a celebrity. However, I am grateful that someone did and gifted us with this book. It is a true gem for young girls.

There are many kids' books out there about ballerina wannabes, but this one, by Whoopi Goldberg and Deborah Underwood, features an interesting twist--the girl in question would really much rather skate, but is pushed into ballet by her mother. Alexandrea Petrakova Johnson, despite her name, is not at all the tutu and leotard type, but reluctantly agrees to give ballet school a try after she moves with her single mother from Georgia to New York City.
It's very difficult at first, but with the help of her mother and friends she gradually comes to improve at and enjoy ballet, along the way giving an unexpected boost to her mother's career. Should appeal to many preteen girls.

My 9 year old daughter really enjoyed reading this book. At first I was a bit skeptical of a book written by a celebrity. Sometimes those types of books get more hype and positive press than they deserve. But my daughter loved the storyline and the illustrations. The story was well-developed and made the characters interesting and compelling (at these for children). She is looking forward to a sequel!

My 8yo daughter is in love with this series. It was suggested by our librarian and she has read the first two in only 10 days. She has a nice sense of accomplishment and loves the mystery in book two. To bad that there are only 3 books. She adores each character and reports back to me on their antics. I would recommend this book to a bored reader (like my daughter) who has read Harry Potter and is looking for a light, funny, fun, quick and quirky read.