Ellie's Chance to Dance (Royal Ballet Diaries Series #01), Vol. 1 ANNOTATION
After moving from Chicago to Oxford, England, ten-year-old Ellie worries about making new friends at school and caring for her mother who has multiple sclerosis, while also preparing to audition for the resident dancers training program at London's Royal Ballet School.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Taking center stage this spring-Ellie Brown in The Royal Ballet School Diaries! With a passion for dancing and the drive to succeed, Ellie, an American girl, will stop at nothing to achieve her dream of getting accepted as a ballet student at the Royal Ballet School in London. This new series is the perfect mix of ballet, friendship, competition, and taking chances!
Dear Diary,
I can't believe I'm really here in London! It was hard to say good-bye to everyone in Chicago, but I promised to write. And I think it will be kind of cool to see what it's like to live in another country. The coolest part is that I'm going to audition for The Royal Ballet School's Junior Associate Program! The Royal Ballet School is only THE BEST dancing school in England! If they accept me, my dream of becoming a famous ballerina just may come true. I'm going to start practicing extra every day. I don't want to make any mistakes during my audition! Wish me luck! I may need it! READINGLEVEL: Ages 9-12
Author Biography: Alexandra Moss lives in Brighton, England. IMPRINT: Grosset & Dunlap
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
The Royal Ballet School Diaries jet s to a spirited start with this tale of a 10-year-old who moves from Chicago to England with her widowed mother, who has taken a job as a professor at Oxford. Ellie shares her thoughts through diary entries interspersed throughout the narrative, and readers learn that she is anxious about starting a new life yet thrilled that she has been accepted as a Junior Associate at the Royal Ballet School. The girl makes fast friends with several classmates, yet must contend with a barrage of barbs from popular Rachel. As the time approaches to apply to the competitive ballet school as a full-time boarding student for the following year, Ellie feels apprehensive about leaving her mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and she is also troubled by her mother's blossoming relationship with the mailman. Rachel makes an unrealistic about-face from nasty to nice, after learning about Ellie's father's death and mother's illness, and, given the series' title, there's little doubt about whether Ellie will apply to the ballet school-and be accepted (despite the facts that she misses her preliminary audition due to another of her mother's MS attacks and botches the final audition by crashing into another dancer). Still, Moss's facility for characterization and dialogue and her plot's carefully measured emotion will likely make readers wish to tune in for another performance. Ages 9-12. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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