Tallulah's Tutu [Hardcover]

Marilyn Singer (Author), Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2011 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Series: Tallulah

Tallulah just knew she could be a great ballerina, if only she had a tutu. So she starts ballet class. When she does not receive a tutu, she quits. But everywhere she goes, things keep reminding her of ballet. Her neighbor’s basset hound always stands in second position. The kitchen clock performs perfect ronds de jambe. And Tallulah can’t seem to stop doing ballet, either. A park bench makes a perfect barre, and what better way to pet the dog than with a graceful plié? This well-told, funny story with a smart new character will satisfy girls’ cravings for pretty and pink, but also shows that ballet is about more than just the tutu.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Images from Alexandra Boiger, illustrator of Tallulah's Tutu
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

The first step in working on a book is establishing the characters and choosing scenes to illustrate. Next comes finding the right opening scene. This was an early sketch.	And the final.

Another early sketch...	The final. I also improved the ballet teacher’s posture here at the request of our ballet consultant.

From Booklist

Little Tallulah longs for a tutu that will make her a great ballerina. At her first ballet classes, she begins to learn basic positions and movements, but thoughts of tutus distract her. When her teacher explains that a tutu must be earned with time and practice, Tallulah melts down into a tantrum and decides against ballet. Overcome by her love of dance, though, she returns to class with a different perspective and eventually achieves her goal. Singer understands the girl's unrealistic view of dance and expresses it with considerable sympathy. Even children who don't share Tallulah's ballet dreams may long for such an idyllic world, in which a child's mother, her teacher, and even the strangers she dances past in the grocery store are warmly supportive at all times. Boiger's expressive paintings emphasize Tallulah's enthusiasm, grace, and large-eyed innocence. A nice addition to the recently growing collection of ballet-themed picture books. Preschool-Grade 2. --Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; 1St Edition edition (March 21, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547173539
• ISBN-13: 978-0547173535
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Performing Arts > Dance

More About the Author

Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides, and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories, and in 1976, her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over eighty books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling that says, "Hi. How are you? Sweet Birdie. Okay!" Her interests include ballroom/Latin dancing, dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, playing computer adventure games, and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.

Marilyn is the former host of the AOL Children's Writers Chat and currently co-hosts the Poetry Blast at various conferences. Visit her web site: www.marilynsinger.net.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars We love Tallulah's Tutu May 12, 2011

By Bonnie

Format:Hardcover

Both of my daughters (ages 4 and 7) love this book, and so do I. The story and the illustrations beautifully convey both the imagination and emotional life of young girls. Tallulah imagines that she will become a ballerina in just a few dance classes, envisioning the gorgeous tutu that she will wear. When she discovers it is a long process involving practice and patience, she has a tantrum and refuses to go back to dance class. But Tallulah's love of dance just can't be denied--she sees dance everywhere and can't stop herself from performing dance steps. Her return to dance class is, hands down, the sweetest page in the book. Tallulah's vision of herself as a ballerina appears as a cloud in the sky, and Tallulah thinks to herself, "I WILL get my tutu...someday." A beautiful book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from Books That Heal Kids July 24, 2011

By Books That Heal Kids

Format:Hardcover

By the look of the cover it might appear this is a book for little girls. But it was just as appealing to the boy students when I read it because of the universal message. This is a great story about learning and understanding patience. It's also about having to put in hard work to earn something. For Tallulah, she must practice ballet and work for her tutu even though she thinks she deserves it NOW. We live in a society where a lot of kids want and sometimes even demand immediate rewards. It was refreshing to talk about how we shouldn't focus on what we get but what we are gaining on the inside from being dedicated and committed to something. Reading books about patience is a great way to familiarize children with this value.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! March 22, 2011

By mom of 3

Format:Hardcover

I received this book as a gift for my 2 girls, ages 3 1/2 and 5 years old. They both love it and it has become a favorite bed time story. Both the pictures and story are wonderful! I would highly recommend it for anyone with little dancers, or little want to be dancers.