Alicia Alonso Dances On

by Rose Viña, Gloria Félix (Illustrator)

Overview

STARRED REVIEW! "The inspirational life of ballerina Alicia Alonso is shared with young readers in this lovingly illustrated beginning biography. The illustrations excellently depict Alicia's dedication as well as the difficulties with her eyesight and will inspire readers to chase their dreams amid challenges and struggles."—School Library Journal starred review

Alicia Alonso wouldn't let her vision impairment keep her from dancing.

As a young girl in Cuba, Alicia Alonso practiced ballet in tennis shoes. Within a few years, she was in New York City, with a promising ballet career. But her eyesight began to fail. When Alicia needed surgeries to save her vision, dancing was impossible, but she wouldn't give up her dream. She found the strength and determination to return to the stage and become a prima ballerina. This is the true story of a woman who overcame her challenges, mastered her art, and inspired others to dance and dream.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807514566
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	10/01/2021
Series:	She Made History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD770L (what's this?)
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rose Viña is a Cuban American writer from California. Her debut book, Ice Breaker: How Mabel Fairbanks Changed Figure Skating, was named a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite Member Choice Award finalist. Rose currently lives in Sweden with her family.

Gloria Félix was born and raised in Uruapan, a beautiful small city in Michoacán, Mexico, and a place that continues to inspire her art.

Editorial Reviews

"This attractive series shines spotlights on inspiring, deserving role models."—Booklist

STARRED REVIEW! "The inspirational life of ballerina Alicia Alonso is shared with young readers in this lovingly illustrated beginning biography. The illustrations excellently depict Alicia's dedication as well as the difficulties with her eyesight and will inspire readers to chase their dreams amid challenges and struggles."—School Library Journal starred review

"With Spanish words infused so that they flow naturally throughout, Viña adds an authentic cultural layer to an inspiring artist's career. Félix’s illustrations, while straightforward and simple, add colorful richness that brings Viña’s engaging storytelling to life. A solid introduction to a Cuban ballet legend that will inspire readers to learn more."—Kirkus Reviews

"In a well-paced narrative, Viña emphasizes Alonso's resilience and determination."—The Horn Book, Book Bundles

From the Publisher

★ 07/01/2021

K-Gr 3—The inspirational life of ballerina Alicia Alonso is shared with young readers in this lovingly illustrated beginning biography. Readers are introduced to Alicia in Cuba in 1929, when she was a young girl chasing her dream of becoming a ballerina. Dance schools were extremely rare in Cuba, and soon Alicia had learned all she could and had to travel to New York to continue to pursue her dream. Alicia practiced for hours every day, but just when she was achieving her goal, she contracted an illness that threatened to take her eyesight. After a series of operations, it seemed Alicia's dream was further and further away. But through strength and incredible perseverance, Alicia not only became a prima ballerina, but also a prima ballerina assoluta, and traveled the world sharing an incredible gift that grew stronger even as she struggled with her sight. Short paragraphs and vibrant illustrations bring to life Alicia's dream and make this a perfect book to share with young readers, whether as an individual read or reading together. The illustrations excellently depict Alicia's dedication as well as the difficulties with her eyesight and will inspire readers to chase their dreams amid challenges and struggles. VERDICT Highly recommended for biography collections and nonfiction picture book collections for children.—Selenia Paz, Harris County P.L., Houston

School Library Journal

2021-08-31
Many readers are familiar with Misty Copeland, but how many know about Alicia Alonso?

Viña begins this appealing biography in 1929 in Havana, Cuba. Excited to learn ballet, Alonso trains daily in “the only pair [of pointe shoes] available in the whole country.” She is a girl with a dream to practice an art that does yet exist fully in her homeland. In 1937 she leaves for New York City, in spite of her father’s disapproval, to train, with limited English, at the American Ballet Theatre. There she faces unimpressed teachers but nonetheless receives praise for her technique. When faltering vision causes her to pause training to undergo multiple surgeries to save her eyesight, she eventually ends up on bed rest for a year after a final operation. Alonso relies on her imagination and memory to keep dancing—a remarkable example of her determination. Viña chronicles Alonso’s recovery and eventual stardom as a principal ballerina in Giselle, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote in spite of living with low-vision disabilities, concluding with Alonso’s return to Cuba in 1958, which marks the founding of Ballet Nacional de Cuba. With Spanish words infused so that they flow naturally throughout, Viña adds an authentic cultural layer to an inspiring artist’s career. Félix’s illustrations, while straightforward and simple, add colorful richness that brings Viña’s engaging storytelling to life.

A solid introduction to a Cuban ballet legend that will inspire readers to learn more. (author’s note, resources) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews