posted on 16 Oct 2023

Ready for the Spotlight by Jaime Kim

Plenty of children (including me, my sister, daughter and granddaughter) go through a ballet loving phase that sometimes lasts for several years of Saturday morning lessons. This is a perfect picture book to appeal to young girls dreaming of eventual success and stardom. 

The very pink front cover gives us a flavour of the contrast between one graceful dancer in the foreground with a resentful looking wannabe dancer looking on. Although both are wearing tutus and ballet pumps, the difference in their experience is clearly signalled. I immediately sided with the angry girl because she looks like a much more interesting character, but it would be interesting to see how younger readers might initially react.

We soon learn that Tessie is actually very confident in her ability but it seems that it is her sister Maya (the other dancer featured on the cover) who is always in the spotlight. She bitterly recounts how she always gets the leading roles with all the associated glory. Her parents and Maya give her plenty of encouragement at home but she doesn’t seem to be improving quickly enough. Even her teacher promises that ‘practice makes perfect’, something that most discerning children (including me and my family members) soon learn is not necessarily true!  Despite lots of practice Tessie is very disappointed when she isn’t chosen for a spotlight role in the new show and is expected to be a lowly bumblebee instead.

But it turns out that she is very talented at a different form of dance and that she can pass on these special skills to her sister and others. The two girls help each other out and both end up improving their dance moves. When the big day of the show arrives, they swop head dresses and both give an outstanding performance. I liked the final double page spread that shows them looking towards one another smiling and holding equally beautiful bunches of flowers.

I strongly recommend this upbeat picture book story that shows how problems can be resolved amicably plus the importance of positive sibling relationships. It should encourage plenty of discussion about how different people have a range of skills and how they can all be admired and shared.

Available from Walker Books, the book is out now and can be obtained from your local independent bookshop- who will be glad to order it for you if they don’t have copies on the shelf

Karen Argent

October 2023