SuitabookA dance like starlight
Kristy Dempsey
- Reading
- Pause to explain any unfamiliar ballet terms, then invite the child to notice who is allowed into the lessons and where the girl is placed. Let them lead the conversation about fairness.
- Themes
- Race and access to ballet: The girl is admitted to lessons but placed at the back with the white girls; she wonders whether a Black girl can become a prima ballerina. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Dreams and a role model: The girl dreams of ballet and attends a Janet Collins performance with her mother. The girl’s aspiration is presented as meaningful, and the Collins performance is described as inspiring her imagination.
- Worth knowing
- The story includes racial discrimination: the girl’s access to ballet lessons is limited by being placed behind the white girls. The extent of this unequal treatment beyond the lessons is not clear.