Dancing in the Wings

Genre: Fairy Tale
Age Appropriateness: Primary/Intermediate
Review: This book is a good example of a fairy tale because it retells the fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses in a new and heightened way. Sassy is tall and has big feet and long legs. She is made fun of because of these dominant

characteristics. However, she is offered a solo in a ballet from Mr. Debato from the Russian School of Ballet because of her height.
Media: This is a good example of pencil and oil paint media. The oil paints make the illustrations thick and well blended. The pencils allow different textures, shades, and dimensions, which gives the picture a more defined and enhanced look.
Plot: The pot is a good example of plot against society because Sassy felt that society was telling her she couldn't win the part in the ballet because she was too tall. If she listened to what society told her, she could have not auditioned. However, she did try out and her long legs helped her win the solo because she had higher, more prolonged leaps.

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LibraryThing member sdglenn

Diversity in the classroom. Fiction. Great for grades k-3. Sassy tries out for a summer dance festival in Washington, D.C., despite the other girls' taunts that she is much too tall. Drawn like a cartoon.

LibraryThing member mlcraft

This book is about an African American girl who loves to dance but faces many challenges because of her color. The artwork depicts the main characters sassiness, high spirit, and the mocking of her classmates.

LibraryThing member conuly

This is your basic book about accepting diversity - in this case, the main character's height - as a good thing. Indeed, our main character realizes another lesson, which is that it's good to stand out sometimes :)

The artwork is very expressive, and the language is very realistic.

I will note that

it's a pretty wordy book and that the characters are often insulting to one another, criticizing each other's appearance, talent (or lack thereof), and just generally having an attitude. Nothing other than what I expect from their approximate age range, really - like I said, it's realistically written. However, it's probably better suited for the older end of the 4 - 8 group for these reasons.

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LibraryThing member aimtroyer

This is a wonderful, sweet book of a young girl with a big dream to be a dancer. However, she's tall. She struggles throughout the book with her height but never gives up her dream.

LibraryThing member Ed490

This is the story of a young girl who overcomes adversity in the form of teasing and discrimination for her height and big feet. She wants to be a star ballet dancer but she’s too tall to dance in line with the girls or be lifted by any boys, so she’s confined to dancing in the wings. When the

opportunity to audition for an elite summer dance festival in Washington, D.C. is presented, Sassy almost doesn’t audition for it because she doesn’t think there’s any chance she would get in with her height and big feet. In the end she decides to audition and is picked for a solo, she finally sees her dreams realized and accepts her height and big feet, not as something to hold her back, but as something to make her unique, and interesting.
While this book may have a lot of text on each page, the story line is simple enough to be used for anywhere between second and fifth grade classrooms. Children in this age group can relate to these characters because the dialogue is very realistic sounding and most children will be able to relate to being teased at some point. The beautiful illustrations also add a very real life feel to the book, aiding in the connection children will be able to make. This book presents a very important message in a story kids won’t mind reading.

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LibraryThing member StephSchmahl

This book is about a young African-American girl named Sassy, who is a ballet dancer. She is not your typical ballet dancer though, she is really tall and has big feet. Even though she is made fun of by her other classmates she is very determined and won't let them get her down. She soon gets to

prove herself and dance at the nation's capital.

I really liked this book because the girl showed very good self-esteem, which is something that is very important for young girls trying to do their best at something. Sassy won't let anyone get to her and that sets a good example of self-confidence.

In the classroom I would use this book for the students to write a short paper on something they are really good at doing, then we would share what we are good at and I would explain how everyone is good at something.

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LibraryThing member vlreed02

Dancing in the wings tells the story of Sassy who loves to dance. She is in a ballet class. Only problem is that she has big feet and is too tall to dance with any of the boys and too tall to be in line with the other girls. So during recitals she dances alone in the wings of the stage. When her

teacher announces that Mr. Debato a Russian ballet teacher is coming, she is excited as any of the other girls. But some of the girls’ rude comments upset her. After her uncle red talks to her about how easily she stands out and how so many people wish they stood out like her she becomes more confident. She shows up to audition in a yellow leotard while everyone else wears black. The girls make ugly comments to her, but she keeps her strut, at the end Mr. Debato chooses her and she goes to his summer camp where she finally has a dance partner and all is well.

I appreciated the illustrations of the book as well as the story. It depicts mostly African American characters making it multicultural although mostly black characters are depicted this story could happen to any girl which I think makes it culturally neutral.

In the class I would do as a read along. The girls would enjoy it the most therefore I’d have to find a boy book. I would then have girls draw themselves as ballerinas and boys to do an art project with their book. Of course if a boy wanted to work on the girl book that would be fine and same for girls who may want to work on the boy book.

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LibraryThing member vsnod

This book is written by a very well known African-American choreographer and actress, Debbie Allen. Her real-life perspective offers a refreshing spin on a story of a dancer, who has one small problem, her feel are too big. Even with this "set back," she still manages to attain her biggest

dream--becoming a dancer. I really enjoyed reading this book. It helps children to see their potential even when there seems to be setbacks. It shows the character in a very positive lift and can be connected to a various audience of readers.

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LibraryThing member nmhale

I remember when this picture book first came out. I was still working at the bookstore at the time, and I fell in love with the story. It's about Sassy, a girl who lives and breathes dance, and wants to be a ballerina. The only problem is that she is so tall, with long legs and big feet. The other

girls make fun of her, and she can never dance in the recitals, because she is taller than the boys and they can't lift her. Sassy perseveres, and when an audition arrives for a special ballet school in Washington, she gathers her confidence and tries out. And she is the only one chosen!

Whenever I read this, I get tears in my eyes, which is silly, because it is such an uplifting story. I very much can relate to a young girl feeling awkward and not pretty. When Sassy cries, I know how she feels. The way she rallies herself, and wears that outrageous bright yellow leotard to the auditions, is inspiring. Even though she has her bouts with self-consciousness, she is a tough girl, and puts her foes in their place with a few well-placed jibes. Sassy is brave in a way that I never was, and I cheered her on, all the way to Washington.

In addition to the sweet story, the illustrations are fabulous. Sassy is such a beauty, and the expressions on the characters' faces are amazing. You can read the happiness, the pride, the anger, the sadness, and the mockery in their looks. The details on the shops and houses is intricate, the colors are bright and inviting. I love the feel of this book as much as the story, and I think it is too often overlooked. This is an excellent picture book that is a worthy read for children and adults.

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LibraryThing member lcisabell

Sassy, a tall long legged ballerina who is constantly teased and joked on because of outter appearance recieves encouragement from her uncle Red, to dare to dream and try. Sassy with her long leggs, large feet and big mouth decides to try out for a part in a summer dance festival in Washington D.C.

and wears a bright yellow leotard so that she will be noticed and she dances her best and wins the lead role as the star ballerina. This is a great story, can be used as a read aloud to spark conversation about teasing, and feelings, build confidence and self esteem. Recommended for students in Pre-k to 4th grade. Students can draw/illustrate and or write about their own experiences and make connections from the book.

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LibraryThing member jebass

Sassy is a ballerina. She has long legs and big feet, and is teased by the other girls as a sort of "freak of nature." All she wants to do is dance, but her size keeps her from the best roles. A famous ballet director visits her school, and Sassy signs up to meet him. She wears a yellow leotard to

stand out amongst the required black leotards, and dances her very best. At the end of the audition, only Sassy is selected to join the director in Washington, D.C., and finally gets to come out of the wings of the stage and dance in her very own duet.

This book could be used to encourage children who are (or feel they are) different, to convey the message that drive, determination and perseverance can lead to meeting goals with success and ultimately realizing your dreams.

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LibraryThing member TamaraSmith

A great story about a young girl who wants to dance but feels like she'll never have the chance to shine because of her height and feet. She learns to look past the teasing and gains her confidence in the story. The pictures are great and the book is great to discuss teasing/bullying to kids.

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

Dancer and actress Debbie Allen, and artist Kadir Nelson - the author/illustrator team who produced Brothers of the Knight, an African-American reinterpretation of the old German fairy-tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses - turn their attention here to the world of ballet, and the result is a

picture-book with considerable charm. The story of Sassy, a talented and enthusiastic young dancer who often feels like the odd one out, because she is taller than the other dancers in her studio, Dancing In the Wings follows its heroine through some discouraging experiences - teasing at the hands of her fellow dancers, as well as her brother; worries about body image, and being different - to a very happy conclusion.

I enjoyed Allen's narrative, which offers a very positive message about accepting who we are, and taking strength from those things which set us apart, while also working well as a story. I thought the name-calling back and forth, between Sassy and her brother, and Sassy and her studio-mates - something I have seen criticized in other reviews - was fairly realistic, and nothing so extreme that it need impede any but the most sensitive of readers in their enjoyment of the book. Kadir Nelson's artwork is, as always, simply gorgeous: he makes such wonderful use of light, and his figures are always so expressive! All that said - and I did enjoy this! - I'm not sure that Dancing In the Wings was quite the stand-out to me, that it seems to have been for other readers.

Still, it's a solidly engaging book, one I would recommend to young ballerinas - particularly those who are self conscious about some aspect of their bodies - to anyone looking for depictions of African-American children in the ballet (something I've not seen that frequently), and to fans of Kadir Nelson.

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LibraryThing member aclemen1

This book is a great way to teach confidence. Throughout the book the young girl doubts herself, when all she really wants to do is dance, because she has large feet. Everyone around her believes she can do it, and she just has to realize that she can too.

LibraryThing member JudesThree

Being tall gets in the way of being a ballet dancer. Yet "Sassy" doesn't give up on her dream to be an dancer and keeps working hard. It pays off when her partner is also tall.

LibraryThing member ckelly16

Dancing in the Wings
Debbie Allen (2002)
I like this book for three reason. The first reason is the characters of the story. Sassy is the narrator and is different than most of her friends and children in her town. She is very tall and her feet are bigger than everyone else’s, but she desperately

wants to be a ballerina. She finally develops the confidence to face her fears and the other characters who constantly make gun of her. Illustrations are also amazing in this book. Each page depicts the text very wall and is engaging for readers. The illustrator creates Sassy on each page and draws her body just as it is described in the text. Another thing I enjoyed was that the book pushes readers to think about issues such as being made fun of. This could easily broaden children’s perspectives on the issue. The overall “big idea” of the story is do what you love the best even though people may put you down and tell you that you can’t.

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LibraryThing member kryoung1

This was a precious story about an aspiring young dancer who was too tall. I absolutely loved this book. As a dancer that would be considered "too tall" compared to the "norm" this book was very relatable to me. Not everyone in the story exemplifies the greatest attitudes in their situations but

there are lessons to be learned. It's very inspiring for someone struggling with height issues and trying to learn to accept themselves for the way they are.

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LibraryThing member khendr4

In my opinion, the book "Dancing in the Wings" is a great book for young readers. One thing I like about this book is that it is very realistic. It involves a brother and sister fighting, a girl who lacks confidence because she is made fun of for her big feet, and the struggle of becoming a

successful dancer. While not all reader could relate to these things, it may appeal to a wide range of readers who have the same struggles. I also liked the illustrations in this book. The seem to be hand drawn and colored in with paints. Most of the characters also seem to have exaggerated features like hands, heads and feet, but not to the point of being considered caricature-like. They also have a lot of bright colors and the lights and darks on each page really set the tone for what is going on in the text. I also liked how this story was a contemporary twist on the classic fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" because if readers are familiar with that story, they can see how the author Debbie Allen has change certain things to put her own spin on the story and made it her own. Even if readers are not familiar with that fairy tale, this is still a great read. The big idea of the story was to overcome obstacles and believe in yourself to reach a goal.

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LibraryThing member kitbraddick

I love Debbie Allen, and I love this book. I have to watch out because my children's library will be very ballet heavy, but this book is great. In the text a young dancer lacks self confidence because of physical insecurities. So many kids, and adults for that matter suffer from this same problem

in all areas of life. The over arching lesson of this book is to accept and work with what you have, don't let it hold you back--embrace it. Dreams are worth going after and something physical should not stop that. All children can learn from such a lesson.

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LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin

A young girl known as Sassy is always being given grief about her backtalk, her too big feet, and her height as the tallest in her class. But she desperately wants to audition for a special ballet workshop in Washington, DC and is determined to make a splash.

This is a lovely story that felt

realistic in all its small details. (It is interesting to learn that the author says it is partly inspired by her own experiences.) It is on the longer side as far as picture books go, so it's definitely more for the older side of elementary school.

There are important lessons in here about hard work and determination. Sassy and her brother do fight a lot and some of the unkind things they say to each other may not make every parent/adult reading this aloud with their children happy. However, it is realistic to how siblings can be, and there are brief moments where the two characters are nicer to each other. There are also plenty of positive family members and role models in Sassy's life, which offsets the bickering between her and her brother.

Kadir Nelson's illustrations are always beautiful, and this book is no exception. He captures so much emotion and movement in every page.

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