Starred Review ALA Booklist (Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2015)

Starred Review Ballet is the best thing in the world to Emma and Julia. They both wake up early in the morning and go to dance class, where they adore their teachers, stretch, and spin. Yet there's something very different about these two ballerinas. Emma is a little redheaded girl learning her first positions, while Julia is a young African American woman in a professional ballet company. On every spread, McClintock (Adele & Simon, 2006) mirrors the girls' respective days using simple, direct text to highlight similarities and differences: "Emma's mother drives her to her lesson. / Julia takes the bus by herself." Her lovely illustrations, in pastel watercolors, inks, and gouache, effectively contrast the young girl with the older. Attention is paid to small but important details e casual clothes Julia wears in rehearsal (most ballerinas don't practice in tutus) and the "little kid" posture of Emma and her classmates (stomachs pooched out, angular arm positions, etc.), making for a refreshingly realistic portrait of dance lessons. Their paths diverge slightly when Emma gets ready to see a ballet performance, and Julia prepares to dance in that very show. A tender backstage meeting brings Emma and Julia together at last perfect end to a perfect day. McClintock's simple story captures the joy of ballet and affirms the idea that dreams can come true.

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

McClintock follows young Emma as she goes to her ballet lesson and professional dancer Julia as she attends company class and rehearsals, pointing out similarities in their days ("Both teachers make them work very, very hard"). A lively mix of page layouts keeps the pattern fresh--as do several differences between the characters. This is an engaging and matter-of-factly diverse (Julia is African American) behind-the-curtain look at a ballet dancer's life.

School Library Journal (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

PreS-Gr 1 McClintock takes a turn from folk and fairy tales to share a sweet story of an aspiring ballerina and her professional counterpart. Emma, a young red-haired girl, gets ready for dance class and excitedly prepares for her first trip to the ballet. On mirroring pages is the story of Julia, a woman of color and professional ballerina, who goes through her day in the city preparing for her lead role in the evening's performance. As their days both come to an end at the theater, the opposing pages blend into one cohesive story and Emma and Julia meet backstage for a hug and an autograph and to express their love of dancing. Young readers interested in ballet will appreciate the glimpse into the life of a ballerina. The seemingly insignificant details of Julia's everyday life paint a picture of her as a real person, and the parallels to Emma's routine further encourage young dancers to see themselves in both of these characters. The story line is simple, the language straightforward and repetitive, further emphasizing the similarities in the lives of the two characters. The pen and watercolor illustrations are expressive and bright, the characters warm and emotive. McClintock makes effective use of white space and leaves the full-color spreads to the dramatic scenes of the performance hall and stage, where Emma and Julia's stories converge. VERDICT An informative and heartwarming selection about the lives of ballerinas of different ages. Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA