The Tutu Ballet by Sally O. Lee is a cute little story of a group of ballet students who prefer to do their favorite moves instead of performing the ones their teacher directs them. I suppose it may have to do with their ages, though that information is never given, or it may just be that this particular group struggles with paying attention as the quote given suggests that not all the classes are this way and that they fall back into doing their favorite steps. But, for what ever the reason, the class presents a challenge for the former prima ballerina teacher Ms. Berry in creating a recital program.

What I found interesting with this book is that Maggie, age 10, and I, an adult and parent, understood two different messages. She saw it from the point of view of the children and came away believing the message was friendship and unity. Whereas I, viewing it from the “gotta get things done” and “we need order” point of view, understood the book to be about creative problem-solving.

As with her previous book, The Rabbit and the Snowman, Lee both wrote and illustrated this book. The artwork is warm and inviting, not clean and realistic as with some children’s books but rather having that feeling of a child’s imagination.

The Tutu Ballet by Sally O. Lee offers a pleasurable few minutes of togetherness through reading with a child and gives easy-to-pick-out conversation starters and points of discussion.

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My daughter, a sucker for cute animals and ballet immediately fell in love with this book. This book speaks to inclusion and diversity by the authors choice of characters. Fillipo the Fox is a male ballet dancer, Belinda the Bear still has her baby fat, and of course all of the animals are a different color.

The pastel artwork is absolutely fabulous and several pages stand alone as an artistic experience with very little text.

In the story, each animal has a different talent which gives the ballet teacher a challenge when putting together a recital. In the end, each dancer showcases their extraordinary talent such as twirling, jumping, kicking, and plier (what is the correct verb for plie?). The ballet students are cheered on by their parents at the recital.

This book would be a wonderful read for aspiring ballerinas, as well as preschool and kindergarten age children. Sally Lee shines as an artist and keeps the storyline simple for young children.

I would recommend this book for ages 3-6. Young readers may have trouble reading the book because the font runs letters together. My only suggestion would be to improve the font in future editions. ( )

What a fun read this would be for most little girls, but especially for one who dreams of becoming a ballerina. The vocabulary stretches for a child of 4-8, but that's a positive aspect of the book. The character of Ms. Berry, like any good teacher, thinks of a way to encourage her diverse dancers to work as a group and an outstanding performance is the result. Teamwork and cooperation are the themes.

The book is illustrated in soft pastel shades that any child would enjoy. The font should be cleaner for early readers' comfort, but overall I give this one an A. ( )

All the animals in the forest go to ballet class with Ms. Berry every Saturday. Belinda the bear was good at kicking her leg in the air. All the animals were good at one thing. It was hard to have a recital when all the students were doing something different...but, Ms. Berry figured out how to do it so that all her students were stars. It turned out to be the best ballet ever!

This is a lovely book with wonderful illustrations. The book has a great message, we're all good at something. The animals did exactly that at their recital and it turned out to be the best recital ever. I think we could all learn a little something from this book. ( )

Lovely story about forest animals in a ballet class. There are 4 students that each love to do one particular ballet step but not the others. My 2 year old loved the drawings and the story, she fancies herself a prima ballerina already. Ms. Berry was feeling at her wits end when she finally decided to hold a recital focusing on each individual’s favorite step. Filled with all of Belinda the bear’s high kicks, Harriet the hare’s twirls, Fillippo the fox’s jumps, and Mirabel the mouse’s beautiful plies. The story is a wonderful story that teaches compromise and makes you smile with the drawings.

I would recommend this book to any parent that has a young child that loves to dance as they will love it.
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