Ballet Kitty

Ballet Kitty by Bernette Ford, ill. by Sam Williams

            Picture Book—Grades PreK-1

            Rating: 4 Stars

            Summary: Ballet Kitty is upset when she can’t find her ballet slippers, but still has an exciting day playing and dancing with her best friend, Princess Pussycat.

            Ballet Kitty is a charming story that any young aspiring ballerina would love. While I only stuck with ballet for a year when I was a little girl, I still found this story to be very cute and relatable. Kitty wakes up happy and looking forward to her play date with Pussycat. She is saddened when she thinks that she has lost her ballet slippers, but still manages to have a great day, forgetting all about the slippers. I remember feeling the same way as a young girl. It was usually easy to let the little things get to me, causing uproar and reacting with the typical drama of a girl. When I was turning ten years old, my parents let me have a sleepover, and I was unhappy because our VCR wasn’t working correctly so we couldn’t watch a movie. However, I still had a great time dancing and gossiping with friends. Just as I forgot about the VCR, I also was caught up in the fun that Kitty and Pussycat were having, that I along with Kitty forgot about her missing slippers! I think this is what makes Ballet Kitty so real as a reader—we can all relate to feeling gloomy only to find ourselves caught up in the fun of family and friends. Kitty eventually finds her slippers, and this also serves as a reminder of how silly it is to worry about the little things when life has so much joy to offer.

            This story would be a great choice in the classroom, particularly as a free time selection for girls to enjoy independently. Girls who like ballet would love flipping through the pages and taking in the illustrations. I shared this story with two girls who take ballet classes, and they loved performing the pirouettes and pliés along with the characters. However, this story would difficult to use as a full-class read aloud or in conjunction with a particular unit, because the theme specifically targets a female audience. As a teacher, I might encourage girls to pick it up if we are talking about how books can bring out our emotions, as I think anyone can relate to how Kitty feels.