Review Detail

While I remember Angelina Ballerina books (and possibly some educational CD-ROM games!) from my own children's early years, I didn't know that the series had been around since 1983 AND had a British television show where Judi Dench voiced one of the characters! Since dance lessons seem to be a popular past time for preschool and early elementary school children, Angelina's adventures with dance have always seemed like they would find lots of readers. What three year old doesn't want a tutu?

The full color line drawings by Helen Craig are absolutely delightful, and even though the author is from the US, these stories always have such a strong British feel. A fête at Chipping Cheddar? Of course! I'm just sad that we only get to see the dance portion and don't get to visit any stalls with baked goods.

Angelina's reluctance to work with her younger cousin is understandable, and many young readers will relate to her experience. It's great that Henry finally starts to work hard, and while the performance isn't perfect, both do a good job because they are well prepared.

Beginning reading books need to be attractive, have a lot of white space, and have large font, and the Ready To Read series is formatted in a way that makes reading the books seem easy. The pages turn quickly, since there is only a sentence or two on each.

Books with media tie-ins are a good way to encourage children to start reading, and Angelina is in good company with characters like Eloise, who stars in picture books, or Daniel Tiger from the television show Mr. Rogers. Adding to the "you can't read just one" quality is the fact that there are many other books where Angelina has adventures ranging from tea parties to sleep overs that will motivate young readers to practice their own reading until it is perfect.