The Ballet Class
Written by Adèle Geras
Illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
Suitable for: 5-7 years (Key stage 1)
Sponsored by: The Mackintosh Foundation
Available braille grades: Grade 1, Grade 2
Tilly loves her ballet lessons, so when she learns that she has a week left until the big show, Tilly practises all her steps and her own special dance every day. What will Tilly’s special dance be? And will she shine on stage like a real ballerina? Read by Emilia Fox
Listen to an audio clip
I'm going to describe the pictures in a special book called "The Ballet Class".
In the middle of the page is a large picture of a girl with blonde hair wearing a pink leotard, a pink tutu and a pink headband. She's barefoot and standing on tiptoes, with her hands under her chin, and her elbows pointed outwards and upwards.
Have you done ballet before? If you have you know some of the positions. Her feet are pointed outwards again and the front heel is resting at the toe of the back foot. (Short Pause) Would you like to try this position?
On the left page, there are five pictures of Tilly showing the five important positions of ballet just like in your first feely pictures. On the right page the children are standing in a line and Miss Anne is helping them practise curtseys and bows.
In this double page picture, Miss Anne and the children are dancing to the music being played. On the left, the girls are all wearing butterfly wings and taking little butterfly steps. In the right page, two girls and Jake are taking big stompy dinosaur steps. All the children are very happy with smiles on their faces. Can you take delicate butterfly steps and then stomp like a dinosaur?
This double page picture shows the stage and the audience. The performance has finished and the children are bowing and curtseying as the audience claps and cheers. Let's listen to Mr Mistoffelees from a famous musical called 'Cats'. You might want to dance around and practise some of the moves and ballet positions we learnt about in the book.
What's inside
- A picture book with braille pages and raised tactile images.
- Audio descriptions with music and sound effects in your chosen format of either CD or USB.
- An ‘Articles for the Blind’ returns label for the free and convenient return of the box.
Touch to see image list
1st – 3rd Ballet Positions
4th – 5th Ballet positions & Curtsey
Cat Outfit, Ladybug and Bird