Shoes of Satin, Ribbons of Silk : Tales from the Ballet

An anthology of stories based on nine of the world's most popular ballets includes enchanting versions of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Firebird, and The Boy and the Magic.

Grade 3-6?Barber tells the stories of nine classic ballets, including Giselle, Coppelia, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and a version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale. The retellings are complete reflections of the action, plus dialogue, but are so wordy and full of details that they slow the movement of the plots. The text crowds the pages, and the small, cramped illustrations make for an uninviting format. Wallis's pictures are, for the most part, merely decorative and do little to illuminate the stories. They are done in strong pastels and have a blurred, impressionistic look. The end result is an adequate presentation that is not as strong a choice as The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet (1995).?Kay McPherson, Central Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, GA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.