An invitation to the ballet

Readers interested in dance will enjoy this informative backstage tour of a ballet theater, which shows dancers training, a variety of jobs, and the specialized spaces needed to produce a ballet on a grand scale. Bustling cartoon illustrations are the star of the show here, as each double-page spread--and even a few double gatefolds--reveals different areas of the theater and the activities occurring in each. The text appears as labels and a scattering of small paragraphs placed near the person or feature they are describing. The book begins with a glimpse of the lobby and empty auditorium before venturing through the costume department, shoe room, wig room, and makeup studio. Readers will also get a sense of the dancers' schedules, visiting them in different dance studios, the health center, and the canteen. The set-building workshop, lighting department, and orchestra pit also get their due. Five classic ballets are described during the tour, which reaches its pinnacle with the evening's performance of Swan Lake. A well-rounded look at life in the theater.

Guillain's sedate text pairs with Shoesmith's desaturated artwork to present a detailed tour of a ballet theater--here, a well-outfitted British affair that includes a box for the royal family "and other important people," and in which the seating section called the "orchestra" in the U.S. is identified as the "stalls." Guiding readers from the auditorium through the many departments involved in creating a ballet (costumes, sets, lights, rehearsal studios, dressing rooms), Guillain offers descriptions of the work done in each locale, outlines a dancer's typical day, and provides summaries of famous ballets. The illustrations are as detailed as the text, presenting dancers, theater staff, and attendees in a wide range of skin tones. Subdued language and art misses the dynamism dance can evoke, but will appeal to readers who enjoy learning what goes on behind the scenes. Ages 6--8. (Nov.)