Jake the ballet dog

K-Gr 3-Jake, the canine protagonist in Jake the Philharmonic Dog (Walker, 2006), is introduced to a New York City ballet company as it gets ready for its annual performance of The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. Readers get glimpses of the beloved ballet as Jake interferes with the company's rehearsals, but the book is really more about ballet in general than it is about The Nutcracker in particular. The stylish illustrations show the work of the improbably patient ballet master and the dancers as they try to resist the irrepressible pooch's efforts to join them onstage.-Virginia Walter, University of California, Los Angeles (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

LeFrak and Baranski team up again for their second story about Jake the terrier, who previously learned about the orchestra in Jake the Philharmonic Dog (2006). This time Jake is staying with a ballerina named Allegra who is starring as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Allegra discovers that Jake can leap and twirl and bow like a dancer, so she takes him along to her ballet class and to a dress rehearsal. Jake learns a few ballet steps and terms in class and then interacts with the cast as the rehearsal proceeds. Professional ballet terms and the characters and plot of The Nutcracker are skillfully woven into Jake's story, introducing both the art of the dance and the most popular and frequently performed ballet in the United States. The large format and Baranski's polished paintings in saturated colors bring the beloved story to life, with well-designed pages that incorporate the complexity of performance. Two final pages compile all the ballet terms into a glossary cleverly titled "Foot Notes." (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.