Common Sense Media Review
By Tracy Moore
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Imaginative ballet tale teaches meaning of commitment.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Tallulah really wants to be a ballerina, and to do that, she believes, she really needs a tutu. Every time she goes to ballet class, she looks for it. She waits for it. She wishes for it. But when it doesn't come, Tallulah must decide how much she really wants to be a ballerina, and how important the tutu is to her success.
Is It Any Good?
TALLULAH'S TUTU excels at evoking a young girl's imaginative world. Like many young girls who experiment with a constantly changing array of new pursuits, Tallulah longs to become a ballerina -- immediately. She hasn't learned yet about the work, frustration, and patience required to achieve her goal. Adults give Tallulah the space to work it out, even as she takes some time off from ballet to consider in her own way the sacrifices it requires.
With dreamy illustrations in watercolor and egg yolk, and a relatable tone that accurately portrays young children's idealism and impatience, this book stands in stark contrast to the typical little-girl fare that paints ballet as a fun dress-up game on a par with princess stories. Here, it's a serious commitment and passion that a child must truly come to on his or her own.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about commitment. What does it mean to commit to something? Have you committed to anything? If so, what? How did it go?
What's fun about reading books about ballet? Do you think it's hard for an artist to create pictures of people dancing? How does an artist show movement on the page?
How long do you think it takes to be really good at something? What is an activity you are good at? How long did you have to practice to be good at it?
Book Details
- Author: Marilyn Singer
- Illustrator: Alexandra Boiger
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Arts and Dance , Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Clarion Books
- Publication date: March 21, 2011
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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