The Cranky Ballerina
Book - 2016
Ada hates everything about ballet class, yet she still has to go! Arabesques? Grotesque! And then one Saturday, Ada pliés right out the door and into the hallway, smacking into someone who thinks her ungraceful moves are great!
In the tradition of Kevin Henkes's Lilly books and Russell and Lillian Hoban's Frances classics, Ada is a plucky little kid with her own way of thinking. Through Ada's stubbornness and emotional honesty, author/illustrator Elise Gravel shows her understanding of how kids feel and why. She shows us that anger is normal and feeling our emotions leads to growth! This short, funny, energetic book--full of word bubbles that enhance visual literacy and Gravel's signature vibrant illustrations--is a great choice for both reading aloud and reading independently for emergent readers.
Children who love ballet--and definitely those who don't--will delight in this clever, subversive tale about a kid who has to do what she doesn't like in order to discover what she loves.
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From Library Staff
From Library Staff
Elise Gravel is one of my favorite illustrators, but she nails it with this story, too. A young girl hates Saturdays because it's the day of her ballet class, which "is not her thing," because she always ends up kicking, hitting, and bumping into everyone, no matter how hard she tries.... Read More »
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Add a CommentMy daughter and I loved this book as it is a really funny alternative for the 'girly ballerina' stories. The author captures the 'grumpiness' of kids that are not into something but that still go for the practice not knowing that they may have skills for other things. The book shows that you can be lucky to find something that you are really good at and that this can change how you feel about waking up early on a Saturday morning for a class. It teaches kids (and parents!) that what may seem laziness can be actually a sign that we are using our skills for the wrong activity.
I didn't feel that the author showed any kind of understanding of children, their feelings, or how to grow from them. All my children got was how to complain at every waking moment about every thing possible. There was no "the effort will pay off for your hard work" or anything of the sort. Just endless complaining! And to teach them to scream "hate" so much is just such a bad example.
Elise Gravel is one of my favorite illustrators, but she nails it with this story, too. A young girl hates Saturdays because it's the day of her ballet class, which "is not her thing," because she always ends up kicking, hitting, and bumping into everyone, no matter how hard she tries. Luckily, she runs smack into the teacher at the martial arts school next door, and they realize where her natural interests and inclinations lie: Karate! The cranky ballerina will be cranky no more. Gravel puts the icing on the cake by including, on the last page, a mirror image of her female protagonist, a boy in the karate class whose "thing" appears to be ballet. Hopefully he finds his way to the recently vacated spot in the ballet class next door. Brilliant!
A mismatch between talent, interest and a weekly ballet class leads to frustration for Ada, until she tries something new and finds her true passion. If you enjoy Elise Gravel's cheeky cartoon humour check out her other titles! Slightly older kids who love "gross" facts will want to check out her "disgusting creatures" non-fiction series.
This is a pretty cute book, however, I do not like the repetitive use of the word "hate" for such a young audience.