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The Only Boy in Ballet Class |
Author: Denise Gruska
Published: 2007-07-26 |
List price: $15.95
Our price: $10.85
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As of: November 23rd, 2008 01:34:08 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Dance to Your Own Beat
From the moment he wakes up in the morning until the moment he goes to sleep at night, Tucker is in constant motion. His boundless energy and upbeat personality make him bounce down the stairs, twirl around his parents, and weave between his younger sisters. His natural affinity for dancing leads him to ballet class. He absolutely loves dancing and enjoys his class. He doesn't care that he's the only boy enrolled in the course - until his male classmates find out and make fun of him for it. His uncle isn't too keen on it either. Happily, Tucker follows his heart (or, rather, his feet!) During a football game, his speed and agility impress his peers, and the teasing diminishes.
Gruska's text is simple and easy to follow, and the colorful illustrations by Amy Wummer suit the story. Even the endpapers are pretty! (I really love argyle.) The book includes a glossary of ballet terms to further educate hopeful dancers. This story will encourage readers of all ages to keep dancing to the beat of his or her own drummer.
Courage Under Fire
The Only Boy in Ballet Class is a perfectly charming book, wonderfully illustrated by a prolific artist, but it's also an important story for young children about coming to terms with your true self and expressing the passions you really feel, even if others don't quite get it. It's a story about commitment, about perseverance, and about unanticipated rewards.
Tucker Dohr loves to dance, and not just any kind of dancing, but the difficult discipline of the Ballet. Being the only boy in a ballet class is very hard, but Tucker needs to dance, even though many of the kids in his neighborhood mock his participation in a "girly" activity. And if that weren't bad enough, Tucker has an uncle, equally rigid and unsupportive, who constantly carps at his dancing and urges him to take up more stereotypical activities for boys. But Tucker looks forward to his ballet classes, and doesn't give up.
He has heart, in a heartless world, or perhaps just a world burdened by the many broken-hearted people who've let their own dreams fade away, and then settled for someone else's dream, someone else's life.
Tucker is very lucky as well; his Uncle has no real say in his life, other than as a wet blanket and kibbitzer from the sidelines. Tucker's parents support him, and allow Tucker to be himself, to find his own way, and to dream his own dreams.
The illustrations beautifully extend the text of the book and make it more compelling, allowing us to see Tucker's sense of joy and fulfillment in dance, both in private moments and during public performance.
This book will be attractive to any child interested in the Ballet, and even includes a little glossary of dance terms which describes the various movements Tucker excels at. But it will also be attractive to any children who find themselves inhabiting the unknown territories at the boundaries of life, whether that be the difficult negotiation of gender roles and behavior, as in this book, or those who are fascinated with unpopular subjects -- like lepidoptery, or Etruscan pottery -- because Tucker does just fine. His passion turns out to be valuable in fields outside the dance studio, and he still loves to dance.
A Passionate Book About a Passionate Boy
The Only Boy in Ballet Class is a passionate, entertaining, funny, and poignant look at a boy's struggle to be his most authentic self. I read this with my daughter and it moved her, literally, to dance around the living room. She had me demonstrating the various balllet moves from the glossary in the back. Then, in mid pirouette declared her intentions to become a ballet dancer, just like Tucker Dohr. No doubt this book inspired her to move. But I appreciated it most for the valuable message it imparts to its readers, of celebrating the uniqueness in all of us. Because, after all, that is what makes us each special.
A beautiful book for boys, girls, and adults
This beautiful book brought tears to my eyes. It so perfectly capatures the joy and the struggle that each of us face as we learn to be ourselves in this world. It provides a wonderful starting point for parents to talk to their children about how to be true to what we really love and how to respect others for who they are. Plus, my football playing boys had a blast trying out all the ballet moves. This book is a treasure that will be read and enjoyed for many years in our home. It would make a great gift for any family!
Great Book for Adults, Too!
Whether you were a BMOC (big man on campus) or a wallflower, almost every adult has experienced being part of the "in crowd", or being a social pariah. Denise Gruska's "Only Boy in Ballet Class" explores these themes in a terrific book that shows there is life after teasing. Every adult can relate to this, and every kid will (at some point) go through it. I bought this book for my kid to show that it's o.k. to be a ballet dancer, or a football player (or both), but mostly, that it's o.k. to be DIFFERENT. Self-acceptance, and doing what you love (in spite of what other people think) is the most important thing, and Gruska's warm and delightful book is proof positive of both. A terrific book for kids and adults alike!
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