Ballerina Dreams

Lauren Thompson; James Estrin (Photographer); Joanne Ferrara

Though I work in a bookstore, I discovered 1 2 3 when my brother gave it to my one-year-old daughter with the intention of helping her learn to count. At first glance I thought it was a nice counting book with beautiful illustrations. Once we read it a couple times, though, I began to notice details I had missed that made reading this book so much more than reciting numbers.

Each page represents a number and also offers delightful hidden surprises. The number six, for example, stars Hansel and Gretel and six shiny sweets, six lollipops outside the witch’s house, six mushrooms in the yard, six white birds, and six cats sulking about. Every page is a scavenger hunt with tons of little details tucked into the nooks and crannies of the illustrations that reinforce that page’s number. Children (and their parents) will enjoy recognizing characters they know well, with spreads depicting scenes from fairy tales from Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk to The Red Shoes and Little Red Riding Hood. There are often characters from other stories slipped into the background, foreshadowing their dedicated page to come. If you look out the window of the Gingerbread Man’s kitchen, for example, you will see Jack’s beanstalk off in the distance and the Ugly Duckling’s pond on the horizon.

This is one counting book I won’t mind reading over and over because I find new details each time we read it. My daughter, at one, is captivated by the illustrations. She loves pointing out the different animals and details. I can only imagine that as she gets older, she will love the treasure-hunt aspects this book offers even more than I do. I think it will help make counting and learning math a lot of fun for her!

Format

Picture Book

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CRITICS HAVE SAID

The colorful photographs of this dancing community working toward a common goal accurately and sensitively capture the struggles and joyful enthusiasm of all of the participants.–Carol Schene, School Library Journal

This touching story would be a useful resource in an early childhood educational setting as an example of individuals with different abilities or disabilities, and its message of determination in the face of adversity is one that parents and educators of children of all ages would find useful.–Children

The text is pithy but leaves the reader with great admiration for Ferrara and the difference she has made in these little ballerinas’ sense of confidence and self-worth.–Kirkus Reviews

IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:

Carlson, Nancy L. Arnie and the New Kid. Viking, 1990. ISBN-13: 978-0440845768

Cowen-Fletcher, Jane. Mama Zooms. Scholastic, 1993. ISBN-13: 978-0590457750

Damrell, Liz. With the Wind. Orchard, 1991. ISBN-13: 978-0531058824

Geras, Adele. Time for Ballet. Dial, 2004. ISBN-13: 978-0803729780

Isadora, Rachel. Max. Macmillan, 1976. ISBN-13: 978-0021790456

Krementz, Jill. A Very Young Dancer. Random House, 1976.

Stadler, Alexander. Lila Bloom. Farrar, 2004. ISBN-13: 978-0374344740