Miss Tutu's Star

by Lesléa Newman, Carey F. Armstrong-Ellis (Illustrator)

Overview

Selena is a little girl “who does not walk so much as twirl.” When her mother takes her to Miss Tutu’s school of ballet, Selena has a bit of trouble with some of the steps, but still she practices and practices to get them right. Finally the time comes for Selena to make her debut. But she is terrified. Will her fear stop her from becoming Miss Tutu’s star?


Lesléa Newman’s lyrical and humorous story about achieving one’s dream is perfectly matched with Carey Armstrong-Ellis’s witty and charming illustrations, which are filled with little stories of their own.



F&P level: I
F&P genre: RF

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810983960
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/01/2010
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.98(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.39(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Lesléa Newman is the author of 80 books for readers of all ages including the novel-in-verse October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard; the short story collection A Letter to Harvey Milk; the dual memoir-in-verse I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father; the picture books Sparkle Boy and The Boy Who Cried Fabulous; and the children’s classic Heather Has Two Mommies. Her honors and literary awards include the Matthew Shepard Foundation Making A Difference Award, a National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowship, two American Library Association Stonewall Honors, two National Jewish Book Awards, the Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award, and the Massachusetts Book Award. From 2008–10, she served as the poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts. Seven of her poems from October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard are included in the libretto of Considering Matthew Shepard, a fusion oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson. Newman lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.lesleanewman.com.


Carey F. Armstrong-Ellis is the author and illustrator of Ten Creepy Monsters and the illustrator of the bestselling Twelve Days of Kindergarten series. She lives in Cape Neddick, Maine.

Editorial Reviews

Selena (“Who did not walk so much as twirl,/ Who did not skip so much as prance”) wants to be a ballerina, but her untidy black hair, round chin, and pudgy tummy are conspicuously unballerinalike. She could have a teacher who is scornful of her dancing dreams, but Miss Tutu is the ballet teacher everyone wishes for, and this is as much her story as it is Selena’s. “What matters most is from the start,/ My dear, you’ve always danced with heart,” she reassures Selena after a fall, holding her close. Selena responds by working hard, not just for one class, but for several years. When Selena finally finishes her starring role in the big recital (which ends in slapstick disaster), Miss Tutu is waiting in the wings: “Selena looked about. ‘What now?’/ Miss Tutu whispered, ‘Take your bow.’ ” Ellis’s (The Twelve Days of Springtime) slightly clunky mixed media cartoons have the same uneasy relationship to Newman’s (Just Like Mama) crisp verse as Selena does to the world of ballet, but they do a good job of portraying Selena’s changing emotions. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2—In this rhyming story, Selena loves to twirl and prance, so her mother enrolls her in Miss Tutu's Dance Academy. As parents and younger siblings look on, the teacher instructs her students in the elements of ballet and encourages them when they are less than elegant. Finally, the children are ready for their first recital. Although the production does not go quite as smoothly as they would have hoped, thanks to Miss Tutu's cat and an errant mouse, the audience of friends and family gives Selena and her fellow dancers a rousing ovation for their efforts. Selena is a slightly chubby and not-inherently graceful girl with plenty of bounce and a determination to succeed. The plain-looking dance instructor and her class of ordinary girls and boys should inspire youngsters who like to dance but are not natural swans. Armstrong-Ellis's gouache and colored-pencil illustrations add comic touches. Readers will want to follow the cat's antics and keep an eye on the scarf that Selena's mother knits as the tale progresses. The protagonist is a likable character with lots of heart. Many children will recognize themselves in this agreeable offering.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

School Library Journal

Little spike-haired Selena so loves dance that her mother enrolls her in Miss Tutu's ballet school, where she demonstrates passion and style but no grace. She learns her steps, studies hard and two years later makes her stage debut in a student recital. The story is told in AABB rhyming quatrains with occasional awkward scanning. The illustrations are colorful and portray a multicultural array of boys and girls engaged in something more akin to awkward but energetic physical movement than the more precise study of ballet steps. Selena's round face and round derriere displayed in her stage bow after a performance that literally knocks over her fellow students are not likely to be seen in any serious ballet school, nor would a ballet teacher demonstrate standing on pointe to such little children. Selena's constant mix-ups are balanced by her determination, an admirable quality but not one that would overcome her deficits in any real-world ballet situation. Pink glitter on the cover doesn't quite elevate this to the level of necessary purchase. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews