LILA BLOOM

After a bad day at school a little girl named Lila announces to her caretaker aunt and her ballet teacher, Madame Vera, that she wants to quit her strictly run ballet class. Both adults wisely handle the situation in a low-key manner, and in fact, Madame Vera agrees with Lila and then ignores her during class. This approach makes Lila try much harder, and her increased efforts cause both her self-confidence and her performance to bloom. By the time class is over, Lila’s fit of negativity has passed, and she has actually requested (and received) permission to take two ballet classes per week. Stadler, creator of the Beverly Billingsly series, continues to artfully employ his droll, understated humor and quirky, loose style of watercolors outlined in thick strokes of black. Though he takes some liberties with proper ballet class attire, he skillfully integrates traditional ballet steps and class structure into his story, along with correct ballet terms and a few French phrases from the fearsome Madame Vera. (Pronunciations are included in a separate list.) (Picture book. 3-6)