The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet

by Geraldine McCaughrean

"In this attractive book, ten of the world's best-known ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella, are introduced to young readers.  The essence of a ballet production is successfully captured by the full-color illustrations, which exuberantly portray each story's setting, and the writing style, which maintains the original flavor of both the tales and ballets.  Children who love to attend ballets, take ballet lessons, or like to read fairy tales will delight in this treasury."-- Booklist   There is no more elegant or comprehensive introduction to the ballet than this enchanting book.  

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Anthologies, Cinderella

112 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 1994

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely hardback book contains ten classic tales from the ballet: Swan Lake, Coppelia, Gisele, Cinderella, La Sylphide, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, The Firebird, Petrouchka and The Sleeping Beauty. It has a paper, outer cover, but my daughter prefers to remove that and I was pleased to see that the picture is on the actual book as well – so often you remove the outer cover and the book itself is just plain.

I am a big fan of Geraldine McCaughrean and think she is a wonderful storyteller. However, her storytelling is certainly enhanced by Angela Barrett’s illustrations. My daughter is ten and I think this collection is really suitable for her, but I would recommend it for ages 7+. If you have a younger child and are looking for stories that will appeal, then the “Ella Bella Ballerina,” by James Mayhew picture books are perfect.

However, if you are looking for slightly longer stories, which are perfect to read aloud, or alone, this is a lovely collection. My ten year old daughter is ballet mad and I am hoping this will help introduce her to the stories of classic ballets, to help her understanding of the storyline before she watches them. A beautifully presented book, with stories which are wonderfully told and magically illustrated.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice, simple, serviceable retellings with beautiful illustrations by Angela Barrett, whose work I adore. I loved learning the stories of the ballets that I've listened to all my life, especially the ones that weren't based on stories that I was familiar with.

[Verena · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations aren't my taste - you don't get too much classic pictures. It's not a colorful picture book, but rather misty, but still with ballet elements. I love the final picture of the heartbreaking Swan Lake story.
Yet, the author has a captivating style. Especially, Swan Lake and the Nutcracker have quite romantic, dreamy retellings here. Sleeping Beauty is good, too.
Coppelia got a touching twist and Giselle got an usual retelling. There's also Cinderella, La Sylphide, Romeo and Juliet and the Firebird.
If good text is more important than dashing Pictures and you like to get more ballet stories, Pick this.

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good purchase for me! I love ballet, and there were 10 ballets included in this collection. Each ballet that was included told the story of the ballet of that name. It included Swan Lake, Coppelia, Giselle, Cinderella, La Sylphide, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, The Firebird, Petrouchka, and The Sleeping Beauty. The illustrations were colorful and detailed, and the stories were sometimes different than I'd remembered. This is a book that would delight any ballet fan.

[Asiuol K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only knew half the ballets, so I enjoyed learning the others. The illustrations did have a 90s vibe to it, which was oddly charming.

[Knight Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book as a young girl and I still do. The ballet stories are given their spin and are full of romance and wonder. My favorite is Swan Lake, Nutcracker, and Petrushka.

[Miriam Zollia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll never forget this book. It’s part of my childhood and I absolutely love it. I just want to read it again and again and again

[Cara (Wilde Book Garden) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really lovely, though I was thrown by the fact that the Firebird was an actual bird rather than a magical bird woman. I guess I was expecting Nina Ananiashvili!

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[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful new edition of a classic ballet story collection. Travel to the magical Land of Sweets across the Lemonade Ocean in The Nutcracker; be dazzled by the magical Firebird with her flame-bright feathers; and dance until the clock chimes midnight with Cinderella and her handsome prince. Master storyteller Geraldine McCaughrean retells these classic tales with poetry and magic, while renowned artist Angela Barrett's exquisite illustrations dance off the page.

I love all the ballets, they are magical! I also love Angela Barrett's gorgeous illustrations. She is a wonderful illustrator! This book is lovely! :) xx

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because I love Angela Barrett's illustrations, and while I found much to admire, as always, in her art, I was most delighted by Geraldine McCaughrean's retellings. McCaughrean explains the stories behind the ballets with verve and clever touches of dialogue and detail, but she also manages to capture the very movement of the dance. I could almost imagine exactly how the characters might dance the story, how they'd exit and enter the stage, even how that stage might be dressed for Christmas or a city street, an ominous wood or a hidden castle.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply LOVED it. Taking after Charles and Mary Lamb, McCaughrean tells beautifully illustrated versions of the stories of ten classic ballets. This was given to my sister (a dancer) when she was about 9; strangely I, who cannot dance to save my life, was the one rapt by it. To this day, I have a particularly strong love of the ballets "The Firebird", "Petrouchka" and "Gisele" because of this book. Love it.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really treasured this book as a kid. I love how ballets interpret stories -- such a weird way of looking at things! Ballets themselves tend to be a bit long (to a kid), but these distill the grace and elegance into a short story. The illustrations are beautiful: all the characters look as if they are dancing but the settings are all fully realized scenes instead of stage sets. It is an entirely lovely book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book as a gift and only read it out of desperation because I had run out of things to read. Nevertheless I was entranced by the magical stories that sent a chill down my spine. For some reason the stories had an almost "haunting" quality to them. The illustrations are beautiful. Although I'm not a big fan of ballet, the stories in this book have stuck with me for awhile now. This book is definitely worth a read!

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This is a children book, but it has a good introduction to understand the stories behind great ballet performance that often shown on stage like the famous Swan Lake, Coppelia, Gisele, Cinderlla, The Nutcracker.

me and my daughter enjoy reading this book

[Janneke · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

Even if I was no longer in the age category, little me would have been very happy with this book. the stories are beautifully and clearly written and the pictures are just as enchanting.

My favourite story of all time is 'the nutcracker', but I really enjoyed reading 'the firebird' again.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted more pictures. The ones in the book were beautiful and perfect for ballet. The stories were well written, I enjoyed how every single had dancing in it. Just wanted more pictures.