Picture Book

The White Ballets

The term Ballet Blancs, or white ballets refers to the identical white costumes worn by the dancers in the corps de ballet.  There are several white ballets, but the most significant among them are Swan Lake, Giselle, and La bayadere.  Lucky indeed, is the yong dancer who performs in some of them during her career.

Rajka Kupesic was one such ballerina.  Now she is an author, artist, and dance school director who love to introduce young people to the magic of performance, staging, music, and artistry of this Romantic style.  Here, she tells the stories behind the ballets, and as well, adds her own experiences and thoughts on her art, to bring readers onto the state and into the studio with her.  Four years in the making, The White Ballets is a keepsake edition for anyone, especially aspiring dancers, first-time theatergoers, and recital debutants.

I Will Come Back For You

What was it like to grow up Jewish in Italy during World War II? Sit with a little girl as her grandmother tells the story of her childhood in Rome, of being separated from her father, and of going into hiding in the mountains. Based on the experiences of the author’s own family, this deeply moving book set during the Holocaust deals with a difficult subject in a way that is accessible and appropriate for young readers. I Will Come Back for You is an incredible story of bravery and kindness in the face of danger.

The Little Mermaid

A little sea princess, longing to be human, trades her mermaid’s tail for legs, hoping to win the love of a prince and earn an immortal soul for herself.

The Tomten

On a bitterly cold winter night at a lonely farm in the woods, when all the people are asleep, the Tomten comes out from the hayloft and talks to the animals in Tomten language which they can understand of summer that will come again.

10 Little Penguins

This inventive pop-up, featuring the mischievous stars of Jean-Luc Fromental and Joëlle Jolivet’s 365 Penguins, starts with ten penguins on an icy shore. One by one, they playfully disappear from the scene as the text counts down from ten to zero. The flaps embedded in the book facilitate the story—readers can make the penguins disappear and reappear! It’s a stylish, humorous take on a counting book with winter-friendly, penguin-filled pop-ups.

Django: World’s Greatest Jazz Guitarist

Born into a traveling gypsy family, young Django Reinhardt taught himself guitar at an early age. He was soon acclaimed as the “Gypsy Genius” and “Prodigy Boy,” but one day his world changed completely when a fire claimed the use of his fretting hand. Folks said Django would never play again, but with passion and perseverance he was soon setting the world’s concert stages ablaze. Bonnie Christensen’s gorgeous oil paintings and jazzy, syncopated text perfectly depict the man and his music.

Where Is My Sock?

Getting dressed can be an adventure. After taking a bath, a boy must put on his clothes—but where are they? Author-illustrator Marijke ten Cate turns this universal theme into a lively hide-and-seek picture book.

Persephone

Based on the Greek myth of the beautiful young goddess who is snatched by Hades and taken to the underworld, this beautifully illustrated classic brings to life one of the world’s most ancient legends–the origins of the seasons.