March 2006
published by Dial Books for Young Readers, 2006
32pages, hardcover
Nate has the heart of a dancer, and he is determined to learn ballet.Even his older brother, Ben, can’t change his mind with his claims that "boys don’t dance." Or can he? When Ben tells Nate that he’ll have to wear pink shoes and a dress, Nate becomes awfully worried. And when he’s the only boy in his ballet class, he begins to think that Ben is right: Maybe boys don’t dance.
Exuberant and true-to-childhood, this is a warm and funny story about sibling squabbles, the joy of ballet, and best of all, grabbing hold of your dreams.
After attending a student ballet performance with his kindergarten class, Nate decides he wants to become a ballet dancer. Despite negative pressure from his brother, Nate persists in his dream until his parents arrange for lessons. When Nate is the only boy in the class, and his brother continues his teasing, Nate's mother takes him to a real ballet in a huge theater, where Nate sees that men can be dancers, too. Though the idea of a boy wanting to study ballet is not a new one, the sensitive, humorous treatment and the gentle and understanding parents bring a fresh slant to the story. Alley's appealing illustrations in watercolor with pen and ink use all sorts of dogs as the characters (little tails poke out from under their tutus), and he creates quite a believable and likable persona for little Nate, with expressions that effectively convey all his emotions. Terrific well beyond the ballet lesson. (Picture book. 3-6)
Kirkus Reviews
