Quickie Review - "Miss Lina's Ballerinas"

Miss Lina's Ballerinas is a charming little mathematical tale told in the spirit of Madeline. There are eight ballerinas in Miss Lina's school, you see, and they dance all night and day in four lines of two. And then one day, a new ballerina joins the class, and throws the girls off their game, no longer able to maintain their neat and orderly lines. Enter calm Miss Lina to save the day. She easily divides the girls into three lines of three, and the problem is solved. Now the girls can go back to dancing "[a]t the park, at the zoo, at the beach, and while shopping". Grace Maccarone's easy rhymes simply drip off the tongue, even incorporating ballet vocabulary like plié and jeté.  And the art by Christine Davenier, also slightly reminiscent of the beloved Madeline, adds splendidly to the mood, with simple but expressive faces and energetic lines.  This is an excellent storytime title (if you can rattle off the names of Miss Lina's students without a pause, I applaud you), being just bouncy and clever enough to entertain a room full of little ballerinas.

Miss Lina's Ballerinas by Grace Maccarone (ill. by Christine Davenier)
2010, Feiwel & Friends
Library Copy