Miss Lina's Ballerinas

In four rows of two, Miss Lina’s eight ballerinas—Christina, Edwina, Sabrina, Justina, Katrina, Bettina, Marina, and Nina—dance to the park, at the zoo, and even while doing their schoolwork. They are one perfect act, but when Miss Lina introduces Regina, a new girl, the group of nine’s steps become a mess. 

Publishers Weekly

In both its pictures and rhyming text, this book is in many ways a ballet-themed version of the Madeline books: "In a cozy white house, in the town of Messina,/ eight little girls studied dance with Miss Lina./ Christina, Edwina, Sabrina, Justina,/ Katrina, Bettina, Marina, and Nina." Davenier (The Very Fairy Princess) is in fine form, with predominantly pink watercolors, accented with crayon, that blend soigné fluidity and slapstick comedy; while some grownups might quibble that her setting looks more Parisian than Sicilian, the spaces have a lyrical expansiveness reminiscent of an MGM musical. Maccarone's (the First Grade Friends series) story, which turns on the arrival of a ninth dancer (helpfully named Regina) who brings chaos to the corps' finely tuned "four lines of two," has a fairly flat narrative arc and near-instant resolution (Miss Lina quickly re-divides the girls into three lines of three). The girls' enthusiasm is undeniably infectious as they dance "t the park, at the zoo, at the beach, and while shopping"; but while the book is a charmer, it's a bit of a letdown in the end. Ages 3–6. (Oct.)

GRACE MACCARONE is a children’s book editor and the author of many books for young readers, including the First Grade Friends series illustrated by Betsy Lewin. She lives in Westchester, New York.

CHRISTINE DAVENIER has illustrated many books for children, including the Piper Reed series, and was the recipient of a New York Times-Best Illustrated Book Award in 2002 for The First Thing My Mama Told Me. She lives in Paris, France.