Ballet Bullies

"Marissa loves to dance and has always been good at it, but when she returns to classes after the summer, she is uncomfortable because she has gotten taller and "bigger" than all the other girls. When she is chosen for the lead role, she is worried because two other girls are making fun of her size, and she is afraid to wear the costume because it will make her look bigger.   Strengths: Girls certainly are self-conscious about their appearance, so this rings true. I love that Marissa is clearly African-American, but nothing is mentioned about this fact in the text.   Weaknesses: The resolution is a little too weak and tidy. Also, while the great Tuesday Mourning illustrations show Marissa as tall, she certainly doesn't look very "big" to me. I would have liked to have seen her as heavier.   http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2011/08/lower-level-books.html"

"Booktalk: Marissa loved dancing, but when she grew taller than the other girls, they started to tease her. Snippet: Marissa sighed. "I just feel weird putting on the leotard and dancing in front of everyone. I feel like the other girls are staring at me," she admitted. http://chapterbooks.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/ballet-bullies/"