This is it

Daria Peoples-Riley

Book - 2018

"A young dancer finds confidence in herself in this picture book about dance, individuality, and self expression"--

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Location Call Number   Status
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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York, NY : Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Daria Peoples-Riley (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
30 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 30 cm
ISBN
9780062657763
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

A joyful celebration of dance that also reminds readers that doing something well requires hard work. While the cover shows a young girl leaping over the title and her surroundings, the end pages illustrate all of the practice poses that ballet requires. The focus of the book is the moment before an audition, and the text offers a pep talk, complete with reminders about how to feel confident and soar. Each sentence is an imperative addressed to a young dancer who is pictured in the flesh dressed in practice clothes, and as a shadow decked out in costume and complete pose. Some lines rhyme but not consistently, mimicking the uneven sense of dance movements. The illustrations reveal a big world, often colored in gray, as a foil for the red-haired dancer. The book opens and closes with the same simple advice, which is true for all endeavors: Stand up tall, arch your back, hold your head high. Pair with Misty Copeland's Firebird (2014) for encouragement from a very successful ballerina.--Ching, Edie Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A young ballerina, nervous about an audition, gets a pep talk from her own shadow in Peoples-Riley's encouraging picture book debut. Wearing a leotard and ballet shoes, a brown-skinned girl with frizzy red curls walks from her public housing building to a dance studio. She isn't ready to go inside, but as she turns away her shadow pipes up, its hands posed defiantly on its hips while the girl hugs herself dejectedly: "The future is in your footsteps./ Freedom is in your feet./ Put one in front of the other,/ and greet your destiny." Gradually, the girl's mood lifts and she's dancing through the city alongside her shadow, before returning to the studio. Peoples-Riley's free-verse narrative has the force and drive of spoken-word poetry ("Stand up tall./ Arch your back./ Hold your head up high./ This. Is. It.") and echoes the energy of her stylized and graceful mixed-media art, which casts the girl as a star, even if she doesn't know it: not a single other person is seen anywhere in the book. Ages 4-8. Agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt and Zacker Literary. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 4-A spunky, endearingly gawky girl leaps across the cityscape on the cover of this simple, but profound picture book about being brave and taking chances. It is audition day, and a lone girl inhabits the streets of New York City with her shadow challenging her to a dance-off to boost her self-confidence. She starts off pouting, stiff, and unsure among the menacing gray columns of concrete buildings. Her shadow reminds her how everything in her life has prepared her for this day and encourages her to go forward and greet her destiny. Gradually, colors seep in to the illustrations. Full-bleeds done in ink, gouache, and watercolor portray the brilliant hues of tree-lined streets contrasted against murky buildings. The free verse moves fluidly in and out of rhyme and features the occasional concrete poetry stanza. No word is forced and the message is clear: you can do this! By the end, the dancer is ready, hair pulled into a bun, and one eyebrow raised as she grand jetés across the dance floor in an image parallel to that on the cover. VERDICT This well-crafted book celebrates the joy of dance and shows a girl gaining confidence in herself-an important message for all children. Recommended for purchase for all picture book collections.-Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

In this rhyming second-person text, a girl with light-brown skin, exuberant red curls, and spindly limbs arrives for a ballet audition. Struck by a case of last-minute nerves, she gets a pep talk from an unexpected advocate--her shadow. In vibrant, digitally assembled sumi ink, gouache, and watercolor collages, the pair twirls and leaps in a lively duet through Manhattan's streets before returning for the audition. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A nervous young girl dances her way into a more confident version of herself.Ballet auditions can be daunting. Readers are introduced to the heroine of Peoples-Riley's debut picture book as she stands before the imposing Dance Theater Studio doors, which loom larger than life on the page. The ballerina protagonista freckle-faced girl of color with a mass of tight, red curlshunches with her arms folded, cowed by her surroundings, until she receives a much-needed intervention from her sprightly shadow-self. Posed with hands thrust confidently on her hips, the tutu-clad shadow leads the young girl on a magical dancing adventure through New York, rather like a female Peter Pan, demonstrating to readers the importance of believing in oneself. The author/illustrator makes excellent use of simple, lyrical prose and perspective to convey the heroine's intimidation and then her growing self-confidence as she absorbs the lessons her shadow-self provides. New York City, in particular Central Park, is a wonderful supporting character in this delightful tale. Most importantly the book contains a crucial message of female empowerment that is also linked to the rigors of dance. Often ballet is chided for its ruthless treatment of women, but this story showcases its ability to instill grace and poise in the protagonist while also helping her to discover inner strength and resilience.A beautiful tribute to the power of dance that is a must-read for younger aspiring ballerinas. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.