Child's Introduction To Ballet: The Stories, Music, And Magic Of Classical Dance Read Free Books and Download eBooks
The latest volume in Black Dog’s successful book-and-CD series combines the mesmerizing stories of the world’s great ballets with fun facts, dancing how-tos, history, profiles— all accompanied by charming original watercolors. From Swan Lake and The Nutcracker to Peter and the Wolf and Fancy Free, the of twenty-five of the world’s best-loved ballets are told, accompanied by corresponding tracks on an enclosed CD. These are the charming stories that bring ballet to life on the stage, along with the music that has made them into enduring classics. Surrounding the stories is a captivating, illustrated history of ballet, each page filled with information, artwork, and profiles of the world’s great dancers, choreographers, and composers. There are even instructions on ballet positions and the key moves that every dancer needs to know. The musical selections included on the CD are keyed to specific points in the text, making the book uniquely interactive, educational, and fun.
Lexile Measure: 1040L (What's this?)
Hardcover: 96 pages
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal; Har/Com edition (April 30, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1579126995
ISBN-13: 978-1579126995
Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #62,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #70 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Music & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance #116 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Instruction Methods > Arts & Humanities
Age Range: 8 - 13 years
Grade Level: 4 and up
I bought this so that I would have something to read to my ballet students occasionally. It is a beautiful book, however, I would recommend it for maybe the 8-10 age group. The music is nice to listen to at any age though. I had quite forgotten how many of the themes of ballets are a little racy! And how would a 4-5 year react to stories about love triangles, suicide (Romeo and Juliet), and other "mature" themes in ballet. I think older ballet students would get more of a kick out of this book than 4-6 year olds would.
My son currently is taking ballet, I was told I should have him read the popular ballet stories so that he would have an understanding of the story before auditioning or performing pieces from the ballet. This book has several stories, it has a cd included with music from the ballets (the book will tell you to listen to a track that coincides witht the reading) the book is not childish at all and would be benificial to dancers of all ages. It is great for the begining dancer or reader with little to no knowledge of ballet as it explains the history, different positions,etc.Having a son taking ballet I also appreciate that the book is not completly girly. It is very hard to find things for male dancers.This book is much more than I had hoped for. I am very impressed with it and I highly recommend it to ANYONE. It is a complete overview of the most popular ballets wrapped up in one little book. The CD in my opinion completed the package making it a terrific value and recourse.So to sum it up BUY this book!!
My 5 year old daughter and I are really enjoying this book. We often include her older brothers when we read and listen, too. I put the tracks in my iTunes account, then use my iPhone as a remote (using the remote app) so, we can stop and start and go straight to the track we want, and then pause it to read a bit. It's nice to integrate the two that way. We also had my iPad nearby, and we stopped and found brief YouTube videos of the dances and dancers mentioned in the book. We certainly don't sit down and read this from cover to cover, although, an older child might. We are learning a lot, and it always prompts her to show us steps she did in her last dance class. Since class meets only once a week, I think it's valuable to stop and think about it in between classes. Plus, her showing US what she's been taught, certainly helps it stick. Great book!
My twins now 5 1/2 have loved this book and CD since they were three years of age. We do not own this book or CD yet but have checked it out of the library many, many times. My twins love the music and will put it on and then create their own dance movements to the pieces. Also, we have read the stories that given ballets are based on many times. The stories have generated many discussions. My children have not been scared because they are reminded that the stories are fiction and not real. This book and CD provides an excellent introduction to ballet and classical music. My twins love this book and stated that they wish Santa Claus would bring a copy to our house as a present this year.Pleae note that my twins have always been interested in classical music but when they saw live ballet performances at the age of three, they became even more interested in the music, stories, and dance that is associated with ballets. This book provides a scaffold for learning about ballets, music, and literature.
I am a dance teacher and I love using books and videos as teaching aids and supplements to my curriculum. This book is excellent, it tells the stories of the great classical ballets in short story, understandable format for children and includes music!
This book was a gift to my granddaughter. I have only read the section on Giselle, as that ballet was the one we were preparing to see. I found that the CD was a good idea, but only contained a brief piece from each ballet. Also, there was no verbal announcement, nor written guide to which piece on the CD went with which ballet.
My 5 year old daughter loves the book and it is an excellent intro to ballet with good information and illustrations. I hope it will help her continue to learn and enjoy the art form for years to come. Suitable for ages 4 - 12.
I gave it to my 5 year old daughter who has enjoyed dancing to the CD and learning a little about each of the ballets (although as the other review pointed out,I have had to be aware of what information to tell her).
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