Wherever Adam Von Trapeze’s family circus performs they inspire audiences with their breathtaking feats. Grandma Antonia breathes fire, Uncle Artem builds dizzying human pyramids, and Papa Alexei and Mama Anastasia dance blindfolded on the tightrope. Only Adam, the youngest of the family, doesn’t show an interest in circus tricks and loud applause. The family is concerned. Where did they go wrong? But one day they are enchanted by the sound of a tuba. And from that day forward, the famous Von Trapeze family circus features a new performer—the one they never expected to be part of the family tradition. And he was a star.
Performing Arts
The Happiest Lion Cub
In the savanna lands of Africa, there lives a lion cub who dreams of being a musician. But his father is against this because he expects the lion cub to become the king of the animals. And in order to become the king, he must learn how to growl menacingly, not how to play instruments and sing. Will the lion cub really have to abandon his dream?
Singing With Elephants
Lonely Cuban-born eleven-year-old Oriol lives in Santa Barbara, California, where she enjoys caring for injured animals, but her budding friendship with Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature, emboldens Oriol, an aspiring writer, to open up and create a world of words for herself.
The Rise (And Falls) Of Jackie Chan
An action-packed picture book biography about Hollywood actor, stuntman, and beloved superstar Jackie Chan! A great read for Chan fans hoping to share their love of Rush Hour, Supercop, and Jackie’s original brand of martial arts with their ready-to-tumble tyke.
B Is For Ballet: A Dance Alphabet
An A to Z celebration of the world of ballet, from the renowned American Ballet Theatre.
Alicia Alonso
A biography of Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso. Alicia Alonso’s artistic achievements are remarkable, considering that she became partially blind and lost her peripheral vision at age nineteen. From childhood, she exhibited a passion for dancing, studying first in Cuba and later in New York City, where she became an overnight sensation in Giselle and was promoted to principal dancer in Ballet Theater. Returning to Cuba in 1948, she founded her own company, which eventually folded due to lack of funding. In 1959 the Cuban government gave her enough money to establish a new dance school, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, which Alonso directs to this day. In elegant free verse and stunning artwork rendered in watercolor, colored pencils, and lithograph pencils on watercolor paper, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand and Raúl Colón capture the seminal events in Alonso’s life. The back matter includes a biography, Alonso’s ballets, choreography, and awards, a glossary, sources, notes, and websites
The Piano Recital
It’s the day of Momo’s first piano recital. As she nervously waits for her turn to play, she tells herself, “I’ll be okay, I’ll be okay” Then she hears a voice nearby, also saying, “I’ll be okay … I’ll be okay …” It’s a mouseling! And the little mouse is nervous about her first performance, too. The mouseling invites Momo through a small door backstage, where Momo is amazed to find a miniature theater filled with an audience of finely dressed mice there to watch singers, dancers and circus performers! When it’s the mouseling’s turn, Momo agrees to accompany her on piano. The mouse audience is so appreciative! But then, as she rises to take her bow, Momo is surprised to discover – it isn’t a mouse audience at all!
It’s Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah, the funny guy who hosts The Daily Show on Comedy Central, shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child to exist. But he did exist–and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his keen smarts and humor to navigate a harsh life under a racist government. This fascinating memoir blends drama, comedy, and tragedy to depict the day-to-day trials that turned a boy into a young man. In a country where racism barred blacks from social, educational, and economic opportunity, Trevor surmounted staggering obstacles and created a promising future for himself, thanks to his mom’s unwavering love and indomitable will. It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime not only provides a fascinating and honest perspective on South Africa’s racial history, but it will also astound and inspire young readers looking to improve their own lives.
Ana Maria Reyes Does Not Live In A Castle
With a new sibling (her fourth) on the way and a big piano recital on the horizon, Dominican-American Ana Maria Reyes tries to win a scholarship to a New York City private school.
Steve Goes To Carnival
At the city zoo in Rio lives a gorilla named Steve. Steve loves listening to music on the radio with his best friend, Antonio, the zookeeper. When Antonio leaves for the day, Steve feels the quiet of the night and lifts up the latch of his cage to escape and look for his friend. Luckily, he finds a big yellow hat at the tram stop to wear as the perfect disguise. But his adventure turns out to be bigger than he planned, because it’s Carnival time in Rio! Fireworks and dancers, drums and tambourines, samba whistles and trombones.