Since it's debut in 1983, Angelina Ballerina has grown into a series consisting of more than twenty-five books. Despite it's original debut in England it took only one year to be published in the United States and in 2006 the entire sereis was reissued by Grosset and Dunlop. In addition to all of the popular books, Angelina Ballerina can also be found as a television series on PBS Kids Sprout, and has inspired an original ballet in London with the English National Ballet.
Without it's wonderful author, Katharine Holabird, Angelina Ballerina and all of her followers would be non-existant. So, today, in honor of all her hard work on this wonderful series for young girls, I'm honoring Katharine Holabird's 61st birthday with reviews of two Angelina books!
Holabird, Katharine. Angelina Ice Skates.
2001 (1993).
Pleasant Company Publications.
Ages: 4-8
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy - Animal
Guided Reading Level: M
Summary/Review:
Angelina and her friends are planning and getting ready for the New Year's Eve Ice Dance. This requires much practice. From the get-to Angelina is met with all sorts of challenges - Henry, who volunteers to be the Snow King has trouble skating; school mates Sammy and Spike think that their game of hockey is more important that Angelina's Ice Dance; a huge snowball fight breaks out on the ice; and there are no costumes or scenery. When Angelina's mother offers ot help with the costumes, she provides Angelina with a little advice about Sammy and Spike - perhaps they are trying to get Angelina and her friends to pay attention to them. Once Angelina decides what to do about this, she can set to work practicing the performance. Despite all the trouble that Angelina endures, the Ice Dance goes off without a hitch and the new year is officially rung in with happiness and togetherness.
This is a very cute story with illustrations that support and enhance the text. Young girls will likely be very interested in the entire story but boys will struggle to sit through this one - Sammy and Spike's hockey game won't likely be enough to capture their interest! This would make a wonderful read during a Katharine Holabird author study or even just as an addition to your daughter's bookshelf as a New Year's read!
Holabird, Katharine.Angelina's Lucky Penny.
2006.
Penguin Young Readers Group.
Ages: 4-8
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy - Animal
Guided Reading Level:
Summary/Review:
Angelina and her friends are all trying out for rolls in the Theater Royale. On the way to practice, Angelina loses her hair ribbon and when she practices her routine the day before auditions nothing goes her way, as she wobbles when she tries to land and ends up falling. On the way home from ballet practice, Angelina drops her bag when trying to play leapfrog with Alice. However, despite her luck dropping her bag, Angelina finds what she imagines to be a lucky penny. And because of the lucky penny, she finds her hair ribbon. The penny gets lost though, when Angelina, Alice and Henry are at the movies and Angelina can't get her ballet routine done without stumbling. On the morning of the tryouts, Henry shows up at the theater and gives Angelina one of his lucky pennies. Angelina completes her tryout perfect and ends up with the part. As it turns out, it isn't really a "lucky penny" but rather a random penny pulled from Henry's jar of saved up pennies.
In yet another wonderful Angelina Ballerina story, young girls will be captivated! This story seems to provide a message to its readers - you don't really need to have a "lucky" penny, but rather just something motivating that will keep you focused and putting forth your best effort.
General for the Angelina Ballerina series:
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