The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories

A collaboration between Jane Yolen, Heidi Stemple and Rebecca Guay is a match made in heaven. Together they create an anthology of ballet stories that lives up to the beautiful cover art. The stories covered are Coppelia, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Shim Chung: the Blind Man's Daughter, The Sleeping Beauty and Daphnis and Chloe. (However, I can't help but note that "Giselle" is missing, which is odd considering it would have fit well into the fairytale-esque feel of the anthology.) Out of all these stories, the only one I was unfamiliar with was "Shim Chung", a story I discovered was based on a Korean myth, and which was one of the first attempts to combine Western ballet with Korean music and culture. The history behind the creation of the ballet is a rather sad one, and so it is fitting that the story itself is one of sacrifice, hope and healing. I hope I get to see it myself one day. Yolen and Stemple handle the telling of the source material, and tell the old stories in prose that is both poetical and clear. It's always difficult to get across the ferocity of emotion that can be so easily conveyed in dance, (when watching a ballet with exceptional dancers, it's very easy to believe in love-at-first-sight) but the two do well here with their attempts to keep it simple and poignant. Here is the meeting of Prince Florimund and Princess Aurora when he awakens the sleeping beauty: "You," she whispered. "You," he answered. It was a pledge. It's definitely the romantic in me talking, but I believe it. Rebecca Guay provides the illustrations, and they are beautiful. Everything has an ornate and old-world glow to it, there are dusky shadows and gleaming baubles, floating garments and graceful hands. The women in particular are lovely: skin seems porcelain, hair seems weightless, and little girls everywhere will drool over the pretty, pretty frocks. If I was to compare her to anyone, it would be Trina Schart Hyman (who coincidentally enough, illustrated a version of "Swan Lake"). Although Hyman is rather more detailed in her backgrounds, their portrayal of women share the same ephemeral quality. There is an interesting decision made in the setting of the illustrations: since this is a book about *ballet* stories, Guay had the choice of having her figures appear on a stage, or in the context of the story itself. She chooses both, for although the participants are often shown in forests or at sea (where the action takes place) they are always striking ballet poses, and wearing ballet shoes. It's an interesting (but nice) blending. Along with the stories themselves, it's also worth mentioning that each story comes with a short introduction that gives a history of the ballet in question, explaining the mythical, folklorish or literary inspiration for the ballets, the musicians and dancers involved in the first performances, and the general reception of the ballets themselves. Some amusing tidbits are snuck into these introductions, su

Co-authored by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple, The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories is an anthology of classic fairy tales that celebrate the art and tradition of ballet. The stories presented are "Coppelia: The Girl with the Enamel Eyes", "Swan Lake", "Cinderella", "The Nutcracker", "Shim Chung: The Blind Man's Daughter", "The Sleeping Beauty", and "Daphnis and Chloe". All of these great stories are wondrously brought to life with Rebecca Guay's beautiful color illustrations in the style of great fairy tale books, and though The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories is meant for young and old alike, the tales are not dumbed down for young readers but are superbly presented in all their glory or sorrowful tragedy, as the case may be. Highly recommended.

The illustrations in this book really live up to what Rebecca Guay can do! There are lots of beautiful two page illustrations with subtly designed costumes and atmospere. The dancers are shown as if dancing in the perfect forms of the ballet ; not on a stage set, but in a fully imagined world of mythology. Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple bring the stories to life in an elegant way that reads well for adults and with the kind of magic kid's are lookining for. This will certainly be an inspiration to many children.

When Jane Yolen and Barefoot Books work together, one can safely assume a high quality book will result. In this new collaboration between Yolen and her daughter, Heidi Stemple, seven classic ballet tales are retold and illustrated by Rebecca Guay. All seven tales--Coppelia, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Shim Chung, The Sleeping Beauty, and Daphnis and Cloe--are beautifully written, providing vivid details and rich language instead of the more cursory texts provided in similar collections. Short introductions to each ballet, including performance histories and story sources, enriches the collection. The authors also include a brief historical timeline of ballet and a bibliography that references books as well as websites for those who want to learn more about the ballets. Guay's colorful illustrations will appeal to the most romantic dreams of any balletomane, emphasizing the brilliant colors, elaborate costumes and choreography usually associated with the ballets in performance. Overall, a wonderful book for school age children and up either to read or have read to them.