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Welcome. Enter. Sit right there
upon our finest driftwood chair.
Enjoy our sunset seaside show—
our dancers are beyond compare.
The Crab Ballet is a sunset seaside show starring the dancing crab divas and their aquatic corps de ballet. A fantastical rhyming text ushers readers through one sea-foam-dreamy act after another, from a gentle seahorse pas de deux to dramatic dolphin leaps beyond the spray.
Gorgeously illustrated in sea-washed watercolors by Cécile Metzger, The Crab Ballet is a two-act spectacular full of sea, salt, sand, and French ballet terms. Mais oui!
A fun introduction to ballet that will also inspire an appreciation for marine life.
A whimsical ballet never before seen above water!
“The stage is set: a sleek, wet glow—Shhh! The dancers take the floor.” Act 1 introduces anemones, squids, turtles, and seahorses as they open the performance of “this gleaming sea ballet” with “an elegant marine routine” complete with swaying, gliding, and spiraling. Then, the corps dancers—tiny crabs—take center stage, scampering, pirouetting, skipping, and soaring. After a grand intermission, Act 2 begins: starfish (“star performers”) dance in formation, with sunbeams for spotlights. As twilight falls, farther out in the ocean, dolphins breach the surface in a dainty dance duet as, under the sea, the aquatic ensemble perform their final encore. Enhanced by poetry in rhyme, this spectacular ocean ballet fairly sings when read aloud; however, the very small font is hard on the eyes. LaTulippe weaves plenty of French and English ballet terms (pas de chat, arabesque, fifth position, etc.) into the text and defines them in a skillfully child-friendly closing glossary. Metzger’s delicate watercolor illustrations use a palette dominated by the trademark elegant pinks of ballet costumes and have all the softness of ballerina tulle.
Beautiful, original, entertaining, “The Crab Ballet” is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and picture book collections for children ages 4-8. It should be noted for the personal reading lists for readers with an interest in Children’s Dance Books, Children’s Marine Life Books, and Children’s Friendship Books, that “The Crab Ballet” is also available in a digital book format for Kindle.
It is a pleasure to find a delightful book that is original and captivating in its presentation. The reader enters the venue, the beautiful seaside at sunset, and settles in for The Crab Ballet. The inhabitants of the ocean perform a ballet, told in rhyme with all of the vocabulary of the ballet woven into the text. The lovely pastel illustrations enhance the story being told, being light and flowing in movement. The book ends with a glossary of the ballet terms. So many young children take ballet classes, and this would be a perfect recital gift rather than the standard rose! –Jean Greenlaw
Click on the link, image, or video to read or listen!
Susanna Hill @ TUESDAY DEBUT
Extensive info about journey to publication
Kim Norman @ PICTURE BOOK BUILDERS
Includes look into revision process
Maria Marshall @ THE PICTURE BOOK BUZZ
Inspiration behind and the writing of CRAB BALLET
Maria Marshall @ PERFECT PICTURE BOOK FRIDAY
Info for teachers and parents
Jena Benton @ SIMPLY 7
CRAB idea, marketing, advice for writers
Sylvia & Elaine @ KIDLIT411 AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
Getting started as a writer, CRAB idea
Laura @ LAURA ROETTIGER BOOKS
Fun personal interview