Lucy Dancer

PreS-Gr 3–In this debut picture book,  a girl named Lucy unexpectedly discovers a love of ballet. Lucy is a white girl with reddish brown hair who loves “the feeling of flying.” She tries out gymnastics, then ballet, reluctantly, and though she finds it difficult, she sticks with it. A mean-spirited sister discourages her, but through a strict but supportive Russian ballet teacher, Lucy finds her way and thrives. The first-person narrative rings true as the voice of a child of eight or nine. Lucy speaks in short sentences. “Everyone was sweaty. It was hard, but it was fun. I went back.” Though scowling Lucy wears a black cap and black clothes to her first day of class in protest, she quickly learns the French ballet terms (which are left undefined) and practices diligently, eager to succeed. The illustrations are loose and cartoonlike, though the images of the ballet dancers depict their muscular forms with accuracy and grace. The warm yellow walls of the ballet studio dominate the backgrounds of pages but do not overpower the other prominent bright colors. A sans serif font, along with the illustration style, results in a final product that seems somewhat unpolished. Additionally, the narrative follows a slightly meandering path and ends abruptly after Lucy’s dance recital, with little resolution.