About this item
A dream comes true for a girl who loves tutus, pointe shoes, and dancing on tiptoe!The girl in this story loves to stretch, to pose, to point her toes, to swirl and twirl and leap! She practices new steps every day. All her efforts are rewarded when one special day, she gets to dance in a performance with her favorite ballerina. "Dear Ballerina," the girl writes, "I dream of being a dancer just like you."The pictures in the book take the reader behind the scenes of the ballet to a practice room, a costume room, and the wings of the stage. At last, the curtain goes up, and the girl and her idol dance. Their tutus swirl together!"Dancing makes me happy!" the little ballerina says. A touching story about dance, passion, effort, and intergenerational mentorship.The five ballet positions are illustrated, and behind-the-scene secrets are revealed. Back matter provides interesting information about point shoes, tutus, and the contents of a ballet bag.The author-illustrator is the mother of a little girl who has grown up to be a professional ballerina with New York City Ballet. This book was inspired by letters Lydia Wellington wrote to dancers she admired, as well as letters she has received from young fans. Every detail in this book is filled with joy and love and is authentic and accurate. A glittery cover makes Dear Ballerina a perfect gift for ballet recitals. A great choice for fans of Angelina Ballerina.
About the Author
Monica Wellington was born in London and lived in Europe until she moved to the United States at age seven. As a child she always loved to draw and paint, but it wasn't until she went to college that she realized she wanted to be an artist for her profession. She went to the University of Michigan's School of Art to earn her BFA and studied pottery, painting and printmaking. After art school, while traveling and living in a number of different countries, she had various art related jobs, which were all good background and preparation for doing children's books. She has both written and illustrated the majority of her books. She says, "I usually start a book visually, with an idea of what I want to paint pictures about. The pictures may come first before the words for me. Both the pictures and words go through many revisions, and I am often still working on the final words after I finish the pictures. " She says that doing children's books is great. "I get to have a job where I spend my days doing totally what I love to do. And it is very gratifying that my work goes out into the world and is shared with other people. I feel incredibly lucky for all this!" Since 1994 she has taught illustration at the School of Visual Arts. She lives in New York City with her daughter Lydia.
