I am very excited to announce the very recent release of Becoming a Ballerina: a Nutcracker Story. Created in collaboration with photographer Mary Dowdle and published by Viking, this book is the true story of a girl named Fiona who studies at Boston Ballet School and is cast as Clara in The Nutcracker. Mary and I chose The Nutcracker because it's one of the best story ballets out there, and chose Fiona because she is has a great sense of humor, is interested in the world around her, has two sisters who love to dance as much as she does—and of course is super-talented. We are really excited that Becoming a Ballerina has been awarded "A Junior Library Guild Selection" and hope you will have as much fun reading it as we did making it.