Usborne Illustrated Ballet Stories

by Susanna Davidson, Katie Daynes, Megan Cullis

A classic collection of twelve stories, with stunning illustrations (done by Yvonne Gilbert Nanos), which will whisk you away to the magical world of ballet. Soar with the Firebird, dance with the Nutcracker Prince and thrill at the drama of Romeo and Juliet. A delightful gift to enchant and inspire any ballet lover.

This collection includes:
Cinderella
Swan Lake
Sleeping Beauty
Don Quixote
Coppelia
The Nutcracker
The Firebird
Giselle
Ondine
La Sylphide
La Fille Mal Gardee
Romeo and Juliet

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens

225 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Susanna Davidson also writes as Zanna Davidson.

She joined Usborne Publishing almost straight out of university and has been writing books for them pretty much ever since. She has written about everything from dinosaurs to the Queen to Fairy Ponies and tiny monsters, small enough to fit in your pocket. She is also a mum of two boys and works from home, where she spends most of her time talking to the dog and trying not to eat too much cheese.

Reviews

[Courtney Kleefeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are not only lovely, but they also resemble scenes from the ballets the stories are retold from! I adore this collection and do not regret buying it. One thing to note before buying this one for young children--quite a few of the tales have tragic endings (Romeo and Juliet, for example, the last story in the collection), and the retellings here keep those tragic endings instead of changing them. I would recommend it to anyone who loves ballets, fairy tales, and beautiful illustrations.
One other thing I enjoy about this collection: the way the story retellings are written is playful, innocent, romantic, and dramatic in a way that keeps my attention. They are easy to read and I will be revisiting it again and again in the future.

[Fiction Addition Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soar with the Firebird, dance with the Nutcracker Prince and thrill at the drama of Romeo and Juliet in this lovely collection of illustrated ballet stories. Twelve stories retold for readers today. Each story carries an introduction about when the first ballet was told and who the composer was. It also highlights which century and author the ballet was based on.
Including the fairytale of Cinderella, the tragic love story of Swan Lake, the much loved fairy tale of The Sleeping Beauty, the ballet based on the Spanish novel Don Quixote,
Coppelia, The Nutcracker, The Russian folktale - The Firebird, Giselle not forgetting Romeo and Juliet and more.

This story book comprises of twelve ballet stories.
Aimed at seven and upwards. 256 pages of enchanting stories that will inspire any ballet lovers.

The book includes links to websites with video clips and more about the history of the ballets.

Thank you @usborne and the illustrations are by @yvonnegilbertnanos

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ive been spending three months researching the history of ballet and i was so enamoured when i saw this book at hill of content that i almost bought it that instant… alas it had started raining that moment and it would have devastated me to damage it so i thought about it for a whole week before i decided to go back and buy it.

i’ve been going to the ballet since i was a teenager and it’s only now that i’ve been delving deeper into what makes ballet “ballet” that i am able to appreciate the stories and how it progressed to be the art form i have admired for so long.

this book takes the stories of the most well-known dances and compresses them into whimsical short stories and provides the characters, setting and dialogue needed to tell the story of these select performances. as a visual and aural art form, a lot of the charm of ballet is lost when it is told in this way, but is redeemed by the most gorgeous art nouveau illustrations. so dreamy and perfectly encapsulates the romantic and classical essence of the ballet on stage.

overall, this was the loveliest way i could have ended my period of intense study and the perfect book to begin the new year with.

[Mal the Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book more than five I would give it a ten! I love ballet so much 😍! My favorite was probably The Nutcracker and the Swan Lake. I want to go see all these ballet plays, but it would probably be super expensive to see every single one of them. I think ballet is awesome 🩰!!! I will love it forever!

[Andrea Zuvich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful collection of stories from Osborne! As with the previous book we read, Myths of the World, I chose to play the ballet music to each story: Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet, Adam's Giselle, etc. My daughter loved it! Not only are these fascinating stories, but both child and parent (if they are reading along) can benefit because we now know what these great ballets are about so it's an excellent way to incorporate high culture into the mix. I was fairly well-acquainted with these works, but I was happy to get to know those which I hadn't been exposed to before such as La Sylphide, Ondine, and La Fille Mal Gardee. Fantastic!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

These ballet stories are simplified for younger readers, but maintain the tragic endings of most of them. The ones I enjoyed the most were the ones I wasn't familiar with, since it was all new to me and I wasn't distracted by which elements the adapter had changed or left out. The illustrations are fairly minimalist, with colored scenery and black and white silhouettes for the people.

I would recommend The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories, which I grew up with, as a superior alternative. This treasury doesn't cover as many stories, and is written for a higher reading level, but it adapts the stories much more faithfully and has breathtaking, richly detailed illustrations.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, with stories my 7yo loved, even though most of the stories are sad. It will definitely be something she can hang onto and pass down should she wish. My only critique is, for an illustrated edition, it lack some illustrations. More of the gorgeous artwork would have made this 5⭐s.

[Erin]

Most of these ballet stories are ones that we all know well, told briefly and written for children as the audience. However, late in the book were three that I was not familiar with and found very interesting: Giselle, Ondine, and La Sylphide. I'd love to read more about those or see them performed!

[Bledvar Albekell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a theatre practitioner who enjoys ballet, this immediately caught my eye on the shelf. The stories are quick to read and supported by lovely illustrated figures. It would be nice to see more of these illustrated stories for other ballets such as The Rite of Spring, Parade, Petrushka and A Midsummer Night's Dream in the future.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

We’ve really enjoyed the other Usborne illustrated story collections but not this one. A few of the familiar stories are good, but most of them are really odd, full of shallow love stories with betrayal that aren’t really appropriate for kids and a couple of the creepy ones have caused nightmares. I also don’t care for the illustrations in this book.

[Laura Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to my daughter at bedtime over the last few weeks. We really enjoyed all the stories!

[♡Hannah♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book.

[Michelle Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice set of stories about several classic ballets. I enjoyed how each story was introduced with information on the ballets orgins.

[Ember Moto · Rating 2 out of 5]

the illustrations where beautiful I just wish there where more of them.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well if you like dance stories, I think it’s great,
Even if you’re not familiar, it’s still good
But it’s quite easy and quick to read

[آرزو اللوتس · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Mixture of love,tragic,fate,haunted and magical. Everything was in there,perfect gift for Ballet lover.