In the second entry in this easy reader series, a younger girl named Sylvie begins studying ballet, following in the footsteps of her big sister, Bonnie. In the first of three short chapters, Little Sylvie observes Bonnie’s class, meets the teacher and gets an invitation to join a beginner’s class. In the second chapter, Sylvie’s mother gives her a “not-birthday” present of ballet gear, and in the final chapter, Sylvie attends her first ballet class and afterward plays dress-up and dances with Bonnie at home. Big sister Bonnie narrates the story in first person using short sentences and simple vocabulary. The text is centered at the bottom of each page under Ormerod’s whimsical watercolor-and-ink illustrations, with each page surrounded by a pastel ribbon border. Ormerod’s young dancers are charming in both their facial expressions and creative dance movements, and the ballet classes include boys and children of different ethnic backgrounds. Though a work with this format is clearly intended for the easy-reader shelves, preschoolers interested in ballet lessons will also enjoy Sylvie’s interest in dance. (Easy reader. 3-7)
