A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream - Hardcover

Dempsey, Kristy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399252843 ISBN 13: 9780399252846

Publisher: Philomel Books, 2014

Synopsis

A story of little ballerinas with big dreams.

Little ballerinas have big dreams. Dreams of pirouettes and grande jetes, dreams of attending the best ballet schools and of dancing starring roles on stage. But in Harlem in the 1950s, dreams don’t always come true—they take a lot of work and a lot of hope. And sometimes hope is hard to come by.
 
But the first African-American prima ballerina, Janet Collins, did make her dreams come true. And those dreams inspired ballerinas everywhere, showing them that the color of their skin couldn’t stop them from becoming a star.
 
In a lyrical tale as beautiful as a dance en pointe, Kristy Dempsey and Floyd Cooper tell the story of one little ballerina who was inspired by Janet Collins to make her own dreams come true.

About this title

About the Author

Kristy Dempsey is a poet, writer, and librarian who is living her dreams in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She is also the author of Me With You, illustrated by Christopher Denise. You can visit her online at www.kristydempsey.com.
 
Floyd Cooper always dreamed of becoming an artist, and now has illustrated dozens of books for children. He received a Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations in The Blacker the Berry and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his illustrations in Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea and I Have Heard of a Land . . . He lives in New Jersey with his family.  

From School Library Journal

Gr 1–4—An African American girl from Harlem dreams of becoming a prima ballerina in this beautifully written narrative, which is also a tribute to Janet Collins, who, in 1951, was the "first colored prima ballerina" to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. While her mother cleans and sews costumes for the ballet school, the child grows up amid the fittings and rehearsals. One day she performs "...an entire dance in the wings, from beginning to final bow" well enough to impress the Ballet Master himself. He invites her to join the daily lessons despite the fact that she will be unable to perform onstage with his white pupils. When her hardworking Mama sees that Collins will be at the Met, she buys two tickets, "...even though it'll cost her half/of what she's put back for a new sewing machine." The aspiring dancer is entranced with the performance: "It's like Miss Collins is dancing for me/only for me/showing me who I can be." An author's note points out that Collins appeared at the Met four years before Marian Anderson's debut. Though the narrator is imagined, the inspirational message is real. Cooper's art incorporates his signature subtractive process and mixed media in tones of brown and pink to achieve illustrations as beautiful and transporting as the text. Pair this title with Pam Muñoz Ryan and Brian Selznick's When Marian Sang (Scholastic, 2002), and use this poetic offering for units on black history or women's history.—Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools

About this edition

• Publisher: Philomel Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0399252843
• ISBN 13: 9780399252846
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Cooper Floyd