OVER IN THE MEADOW AT THE BIG BALLET

The well-known children’s song “Over in the Meadow” serves as the structure for this charming interpretation featuring a shy little swan and her ballet teacher, a cat named Miss Faye. The young swan has been cast in a main role in an upcoming ballet, but she is filled with all sorts of worries about her performing abilities. Miss Faye thoughtfully acknowledges each concern in turn while insisting that her student can indeed handle the role. All the steps of getting ready for a theatrical performance are described in succeeding verses: building the set, making costumes, rehearsals, getting dressed and dealing with stage fright. Massini’s delightful illustrations in a muted palette are filled with charming details and a wide variety of animal characters, and she does an excellent job with some complicated perspective issues, showing the outdoor stage set and the audience from varying angles. The whole complex range of the performance experience is packed into this seemingly simple rhyming story with an engaging text that works equally well when read or sung to the traditional tune. (Picture book. 4-7)