Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova

by Laurel Snyder, Julie Morstad (Illustrator)

Overview

The world is big.
Anna is small.
The snow is
    everywhere
        and all around.
But one night . . .
One night, her mother takes her to the ballet, and everything is changed. Anna finds a beauty inside herself that she cannot contain.

So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the most famous prima ballerina of all time, inspiring legions of dancers after her: the brave, the generous, the transcendently gifted Anna Pavlova. Beautiful, inspirational, and triumphant, Anna Pavlova's life is masterfully captured in this exquisite picture book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452153643
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	08/18/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	52
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Laurel Snyder is the author of picture books, novels, and several collections of poetry. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where she studied ballet at the Peabody Preparatory, Caryl Maxwell Ballet, and the Cultural Arts Institute. She now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she continues to dance, but mostly in her kitchen.
Julie Morstad is an award-winning artist who divides her creative energy between drawing, illustration, animation, and design. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

Cool Mom Picks' 10 Most Empowering Books for Girls

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"A tender, delicate recounting."-Publishers Weekly

"A tender, delicate recounting."-Publishers Weekly

"A tender, delicate recounting."-Publishers Weekly

"Exquisite."-The Horn Book Magazine

"Exquisite."-The Horn Book Magazine

"Exquisite."-The Horn Book Magazine

" With beautiful, graceful illustrations and poetic text, this book captures the spirit and charm of one of history's prima ballerinas."—Parents Press

" With beautiful, graceful illustrations and poetic text, this book captures the spirit and charm of one of history's prima ballerinas."—Parents Press

" With beautiful, graceful illustrations and poetic text, this book captures the spirit and charm of one of history's prima ballerinas."—Parents Press

"As graceful in both visual and written line as the dancer it portrays, it is unrelenting in its depiction of work, inspiration and generosity."—Esme Codell, The Planet Esme Plan

"As graceful in both visual and written line as the dancer it portrays, it is unrelenting in its depiction of work, inspiration and generosity."—Esme Codell, The Planet Esme Plan

"As graceful in both visual and written line as the dancer it portrays, it is unrelenting in its depiction of work, inspiration and generosity."—Esme Codell, The Planet Esme Plan

"A masterpiece."—How Does She?

"A masterpiece."—How Does She?

"A masterpiece."—How Does She?

"Captures Pavlova's essence beautifully."-Booklist

"Captures Pavlova's essence beautifully."-Booklist

"Captures Pavlova's essence beautifully."-Booklist

"The words feel like a poem, and the artwork is outstanding. It is a seriously beautiful book."—Design Mom

"The words feel like a poem, and the artwork is outstanding. It is a seriously beautiful book."—Design Mom

"The words feel like a poem, and the artwork is outstanding. It is a seriously beautiful book."—Design Mom

"Elgantly captures the meaning of Anna Pavlova's extraordinary life...inspiring."—The San Francisco Chronicle

"Elgantly captures the meaning of Anna Pavlova's extraordinary life...inspiring."—The San Francisco Chronicle

"Elgantly captures the meaning of Anna Pavlova's extraordinary life...inspiring."—The San Francisco Chronicle

Indiana Too Good To Miss State Reading List 2018

From the Publisher

2015-04-15
A poor Russian girl enchants the world with her romantic ballet performances. Pavlova was born in Czarist Russia, the daughter of a laundry woman. When her mother took her to a ballet performance, she was spellbound. After waiting two years to be accepted, she rose through the ranks of the Imperial Ballet School despite having what was considered an imperfect body. She excelled in the great 19th-century romantic roles and made "The Dying Swan," with music from The Carnival of the Animals, by Camille Saint-Saëns, her signature piece. Pavlova traveled around the world sharing her gift and teaching, passing up 20th-century ballets choreographed to modern music and always enchanting audiences with her incomparable style. Snyder writes in the present tense in a delicate and poetic voice that mirrors Pavlova's onstage persona. Morstad's art, a combination of ink, gouache, graphite, pencil, and crayon, evokes beautiful Russian cityscapes, while scenes set in a dance studio effectively make use of a white background to showcase a solitary dancing beauty. Falling snow and images of flowers and feathers reappear through the pages as motifs of Pavlova's childhood, her passion for dance, and her too-young death. Young ballet lovers will be smitten with the story. (author's note, bibliography, quotation sources) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews