Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Loving ballet and basketball, Ina brings high jumps, twirls, and layups to both.The light brown–skinned girl on the cover, her hair in two Bantu knots, pairs her ballet tights and tutu with basketball shorts and sneakers. The rhyming story opens with Ina warming up at a ballet barre on the sidelines of a basketball court. Illustrating Ina's parallel enjoyment of ballet and basketball, Casal balances a double-page spread of the girl striking six ballet poses with one of her performing six basketball moves a few pages later. And the fact that her dribble and plié require the same bending and her grand jeté resembles a leap on the basketball court suggests not only that she adores them both, but that ballet enhances her basketball playing and vice versa. When a light-skinned blond basketball player points at Ina and says, "Dancers dance and players play! This is B-ball, not ballet!" Ina replies confidently, "Wait until you see me fly." And fly she does. While there's a sweetness to Casal's wonderfully composed digital illustrations, they also carefully show the parallels between ballet and basketball as well as the protagonist's sense of community with other, racially diverse players and dancers, in the artistic details, color choices, and dramatic overhead shots. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A beautiful tale that grants young readers permission to be all of who they are. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Loving ballet and basketball, Ina brings high jumps, twirls, and layups to both.The light brown–skinned girl on the cover, her hair in two Bantu knots, pairs her ballet tights and tutu with basketball shorts and sneakers. The rhyming story opens with Ina warming up at a ballet barre on the sidelines of a basketball court. Illustrating Ina's parallel enjoyment of ballet and basketball, Casal balances a double-page spread of the girl striking six ballet poses with one of her performing six basketball moves a few pages later. And the fact that her dribble and plié require the same bending and her grand jeté resembles a leap on the basketball court suggests not only that she adores them both, but that ballet enhances her basketball playing and vice versa. When a light-skinned blond basketball player points at Ina and says, "Dancers dance and players play! This is B-ball, not ballet!" Ina replies confidently, "Wait until you see me fly." And fly she does. While there's a sweetness to Casal's wonderfully composed digital illustrations, they also carefully show the parallels between ballet and basketball as well as the protagonist's sense of community with other, racially diverse players and dancers, in the artistic details, color choices, and dramatic overhead shots. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A beautiful tale that grants young readers permission to be all of who they are. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A child shines as both ballerina and basketballer in this brightly illustrated verse picture book about embracing one’s passions, whether they involve ballet slippers, sneakers, or both. With her copper hair in twin buns, tan-skinned Ina “loves to dance ballet: tendu, passé, and plié.” She’s shown practicing with friends before donning a basketball uniform with her ballet duds: “And there’s more that she can do in her sparkly pink tutu: dribble, lay-up, alley-oop! Shoot the ball into the hoop!” Though a pale-skinned player from another team says that “This is B-ball, not ballet,” Ina dazzles on the court, working with teammates to “pass it with a pirouette! Slam it right into the net!” Casal deftly combines ballet and basketball terms, respectfully giving each sport its due, while stylized, candy-colored illustrations highlight the importance of teamwork across both undertakings. Interests needn’t be exclusive, suggests this friendly picture book of court and stage. Ages 3–7. (Aug.)

School Library Journal (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

PreS-Gr 1— Casal's debut stars Ina, who loves basketball as much as ballet. The rhyming story illustrates how she uses skills from both sports on the court and on stage. Ina does love ballet—the poses, the warm-ups and the shows—but there is more that she loves to do. Ina loves dribbling, lay-ups, and alley-oops. "Ina pulls out all the stops, ballet slippers or high-tops." It is easy to love the heart of the story and its message that it's okay to put heart and soul into different interests, no matter what they are. Casal's illustrations show diverse characters enjoying the activities equally as the story moves from the ballet warm-ups to Ina getting ready to get onto the court. The action feels more intense on the basketball court than on the ballet stage, and that's where the majority of the book takes place, with Ina using her ballet skills to help her win the game. Perhaps that is why there is a feeling that it is two different stories put together in one book. Or possibly the ballet background is given to support a basketball story. The transition between the two interests is not smooth, but most children will be happy to see someone like them enjoying varied interests that are usually conventionally gendered in such a fresh way. VERDICT With the importance of children exploring interests unhindered by stereotypical gender norms, this book sticks the landing.— Cassie Veselovsky