Tuesday, October 28, 2008

To Dance by Siena Cherson Siegel - ESSENTIAL

Siegel, Siena Cherson, To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel, 64 pgs. BIOGRAPHY GRAPHIC NOVEL. Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books

Language G, Sexual Content~G Violence~G

EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

To Dance is a beautiful autobiographical graphic novel about Siena Cherson Siegel. As a young girl in Puerto Rico she loved to dance. Her doctor told her mother this would never happen due to Siena’s feet having no arch, her feet were flat. Siena’s mother refused to have her daughter’s dreams end here. She began by enrolling Siena in young children’s movement classes and then as she got older ballet dance classes.

The graphic novel continues on to tell Siena’s story culminating in her being accepted in to the prestigious New York City Ballet. The draw of this graphic novel is the pictures. The illustrations literally dance across the page. Girls who have ever wondered about the life of a ballerina will be enthralled by Siena’s story. However, it is also the story of a girl going after her dream and discovering herself in the process.

Allison Madsen~Youth Services Librarian-SJO Public Librarian

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