Firebird

by Misty Copeland

Other authorsChristopher Myers (Illustrator)

Hardcover, 2014

Call number

E C

Collection

Easy / Picturebooks

Genres

Children's Books

Publication

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (2014), Edition: Illustrated, 40 pages

Description

American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland encourages a young ballet student, with brown skin like her own, by telling her that she, too, had to learn basic steps and how to be graceful when she was starting out, and that some day, with practice and dedication, the little girl will become a firebird, too. Includes author's note about dancers who led her to find her voice.

User reviews

LibraryThing member mtrail3

I enjoyed reading this book. It follows a cross dialogue between a young girl inspiring to be a dancer and Misty Copeland, an actual professional dancer. The text is written simply and in short poetic phrases but the words are carefully chosen to make the dialogue strong and deliberate. My favorite

part about this story are the beautifully colored and detailed illustrations that go along with the text. It is an inspiring story for all age levels.

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LibraryThing member Mchapp1

I had mixed feelings about the story “Firebird” by Misty Copeland. Although the illustrations are powerful enhancements to the story and the characters are believable, I do not find that the writing is well paced. The illustrator (Christopher Myers) does a wonderful job adding colorful and bold

images that capture the theme of dancing. His illustrations are appropriate to the mood of the story, and are so detailed and specific to the words in the story that one can understand the story solely based on the images. The characters in the story are very believable in that one character represents Misty Copeland or any professional trained dancer encouraging a younger dancer to never give up, and reminding them that they too can achieve greatness as long as they practice and believe in themselves. Readers can relate to the character of the younger dancer in that everyone at some point has experienced feelings of self-doubt, and fear that they will not achieve their goals. Throughout the book there is no capitalization and little to no punctuation. Copeland writes “ you are the sky and clouds and air you your feet are swift as sunlight stretching across the skyline like the daylong sun over the horizon” sentences like this create difficulties for the reader to understand the flow and pace that Copeland was trying to create. Although this artistic writing style might be fitting for some readers, this book and create difficulties for readers who rely heavily on punctuation to help them understand the story as well as the overall meaning the author is trying to convey. The big idea that is taken from this story is that anyone can achieve greatness with practice and dedication. Every successful person was once a child with a dream.

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LibraryThing member Josh.Hegna

I read this book aloud to a group of 4th graders and was surprised at the level of engagement from not only the girls but the boys. This book would be a good book to use during a SEL lesson about self image.

LibraryThing member lhanso1

In my opinion this is a wonderful book for children. The illustration style fits the written text by accurately representing movement and dance in the flow of the illustrations. The colors in the illustrations also accurately represent the mood of the story's plot. Initially the main character, a

young dancer, is discouraged because she believes she will never be as good of a dancer and the older dancer she looks up to. During this part of the story, the illustrations are darker and cooler colors. Eventually, the older dancer encourages the younger dancer to keep motivated because she was once in her position as a young dancer still learning. Once the young dancer and encouraged and dancing beside the older dancer the illustrations become more bold, bright, and warm colored. The big message of this story is to stay motivated.

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LibraryThing member Rsantoyo13

Realistic fiction, this is a great story about a young ballerina who dreams of being a professional one day. At first the young girl has low confidence, she says that the space between her and the professionals is longer than forever. She says she could never leap the big space that lays between

them. The professional tells the little girl that she was once in her spot, they work together and build her confidence and masters the style of ballet. She goes on to dance the same ballet as the professional.

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LibraryThing member Ebarclift13

This is a beautiful realistic fiction story about a mother (older dancer) telling her child (younger dancer) that in time she will be amazing at what she does in dance. Through metaphors and similes the author is able to share the progression of the mothers time as a dancer: learning, growing,

sharing, and inspiring others with her talent. This story has phenomenal art that follows the story and demonstrates the mother dancing and teaching her child progressively right along side them.

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LibraryThing member agassa1

In my opinion this is an excellent book that demonstrates the many struggles that young girls go through involving their self-esteem or the questioning of their abilities. The language is descriptive and written in a more poetic style then informational or story telling. The author uses lines such

as, "I was a dancer just like you, a dreaming shooting star of a girl with work and a worlds ahead". The story that she is trying to tell takes a bit more thinking for the reader to figure out exactly what she is trying to say. This is one of the reasons I really enjoyed this book, but it could then be difficult for younger readers to understand. The characters are well developed, telling the story of a young girl who has a dream but needs to work very hard to achieve it, which is relatable to anyone who wants to achieve something in life. The plot is well paces and climaxes towards the end, keeping the readers on their toes throughout the story. The illustrations enhanced the story tremendously with many bright colors and different textures being used to demonstrate a collage that then forms one cohesive picture in the end. The big idea of this text is to never doubt your abilities and that with hard work you can achieve anything your heart desires, just like the character in the story.

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LibraryThing member kitbraddick

This book had beautiful illustrations. It is a book that resonates with me because I am a ballet dancer and teacher... To this day I experience the feeling of not being good enough or comparing myself to others but dance is about more than that and this book teaches that fact. I think this is great

for young girls regardless of ballet and dance... girls start comparing themselves to others early and it is important for them to learn to celebrate their own gifts and others instead of tearing each other and themselves down. Through dance and art, this book depicts that.

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LibraryThing member Sullywriter

An inspiring, poetic story with stunning collage illustrations by Chris Myers.

LibraryThing member LBraaten

Powerful message. If you work hard you can end up making your dreams come true. Motivates kids of color not to give up and be confident. Not to mention the amazing illustrations.

LibraryThing member NatalieCJones

Famed ballerina Misty Copeland encourages a young African-American girl to follow her dreams to be a ballerina

LibraryThing member eearly15

This colorful picture book made of a collage, shows the hard work of the well known ballerina Misty Copeland, one of the first African American lead dancers who achieved her dream. Misty tells her own story written in a poem, inspiring others to persevere and do what they like. This beautiful

demonstration of ballet, engage the reader in a "pas de deux" hard not to follow and enjoy.

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LibraryThing member MeganSchneider

Misty does a wonderful job of keeping you engaged throughout this book. The book is illustrated beautifully. I did have a hard time trying to figure out if it was her speaking to young kids or someone speaking to her as a young girl until I read the letter to the reader. That was honestly my

favorite part of the book, getting to know her on a slightly deeper level was nice and let you understand the book a little more.

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LibraryThing member widdowsd

An inspiring, poetic story where Misty Copeland convinces a young and timid dancer that although she feels insecure, she too can be a beautiful firebird. She equates the young girls experience to her own "before before it all" who had to work, sweaty, with "a thousand leaps and falls" before she

became successful. She ends with a moving letter about her own fears as a child and about moving to become empowered and accepting of herself, and wishing that for her readers.

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LibraryThing member Jahnavee

Famous ballerina Misty Copeland shows and encourages a girl of color to dance and reach her dreams. She learns to dance like the Firebird.

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

Ballerina Misty Copeland, a soloist at the American Ballet Theatre, presents this poetic picture-book to young dancers just like her, hoping to encourage them to dream big. Opening with a moment of despair, from one such hypothetical dancer, who maintains that she "could never hope to leap the

space between" herself and Misty, the narrative counters this with words of fellow-feeling and encouragement, as the object of the young dancer's admiration (Misty herself) assures her that she too was once an aspiring youngster with insecurities of her own. Eventually though, through hard work and maintaining one's dreams, that space between the two - the professional ballerina and the hopeful young dancer - will close...

Firebird is a lovely book, pairing Misty Copeland's poetic and heartfelt message of encouragement for young dancers, especially young African-American ballet dancers, with gorgeous collage-style artwork from Christopher Myers. I always wonder, with authors famous in other areas of endeavor who decide to try their hand at writing children's books, whether the work they produce will be worth reading. I need not have worried here, as the narrative is just lovely: expressive, poetic, and ultimately both poignant and uplifting. The artwork was beautiful, with a sense of vibrancy and movement that complemented the narrative perfectly. Myers definitely deserved the accolades he won for this one, including the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. Recommended to Misty Copeland fans, and to all young would-be ballerinas, especially African-American ones.

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LibraryThing member librarymeanslove

Sparse, tender poetry communicates powerful ideas about representation in a really accessible way. The symmetrical beginning and ending made me cry. Such an important poem for artists of all ages, especially those who don't see themselves represented in their art.

As someone in a widely represented

demographic, I found Copeland's message to be universal - we look at the heroes in our art form and think that we could never be as good as they are, but they started out right where we were. Copeland says that, but in completely gorgeous prose, and accompanied by stunning artwork of Black ballerinas. The impact is a really moving book that has a strong message about representation that everyone can hear and appreciate.

A really lovely book.

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