Giveaway: Dear Ballerina by Monica Wellington!

I'm hosting a giveaway for the new picture book Dear Ballerina, written and illustrated by the generous and talented Monica Wellington and published by Holiday House. But that's not all! Monica's daughter Lydia Wellington is a member of the New York City Ballet, and the winner of the giveaway will also receive a signed pair of Lydia's pointe shoes -- perfect for a special ballet-themed story time! Leave a comment at the end of this post by 11:59 PM EST on Saturday, June 8, 2019, to enter. Please leave contact information if I won't otherwise know how to reach you. 

My two girls are growing up so quickly, and I've been thinking a lot about mentors and role models lately. The girls are both in middle school, and I'm always hoping that new, inspiring people will enter their lives to encourage them and support them in pursuing their still-developing interests and talents. Dear Ballerina struck a chord with me, as I see it playing a similar role of inspiring and encouraging children -- in this case, young girls who are fond of ballet.

The book starts as a simple letter that a little ballerina might write to an older ballerina who had trained at the same dance studio. You can see the opening spread below, along with some of Monica's earlier sketches of the spread.

The text continues from the perspective of the little girl, as she explains how much she loves to dance, how she is preparing for a performance, and how she dreams of following in the older ballerina's footsteps. It is clear from the writing and pictures throughout the book that the young dancer truly idolizes the older ballerina.

When Monica's daughter Lydia was studying ballet as a child, she also used to write letters to ballerinas she admired. Today, the tables are turned, and Lydia frequently receives letters from ballerinas who admire her. In fact, Monica said that's what sparked the idea for this book!

Dear Ballerina ends with a short reply from the older ballerina to the young ballerina, encouraging her to follow her dreams and enjoy every moment of it. At the New York City Ballet, there's a tradition for the professional dancers to send their used pointe shoes to the children who send them letters. It's not unheard of for a professional ballerina to go through 100 or more pairs of pointe shoes a season, so giving away shoes -- as Lydia and the other dancers do -- seems like a great way to reduce waste and make many young dancers giddy with excitement. Below are a few of the letters Lydia has received lately, both asking for and thanking her for her point shoes!

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post, and you could win a copy of Dear Ballerina and receive a pair of Lydia's pointe shoes as well. Also check out this interview with Monica about My Ballet Journal -- a charming journal and coloring book she also created with inspiration from her daughter Lydia. 

Deer Dancer Offers Inspiration

Wednesday morning was difficult for many, including me and the other three writers staying at the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods this week. Just after 9 am that day, to help clear our minds, we embarked on a one-hour hike through the trail just behind the center...

As we wound through the old, towering trees, climbing up and down the small inclines along the trail, we tried to steer our conversation away from politics. We also stopped to enjoy the scenery when it inspired us, especially taking notice of scattered rays of light streaming through the trees. It was exactly what we needed that morning, and exactly why I think we all came to the writing center -- to disconnect from our everyday lives, reconnect with our inner selves, and re-ignite our creativity and dare I say faith -- faith not only in the creative process but, as it turns out, in humanity as well.

The trees along the trail and the accompanying inspiration reminded me of the picture book Deer Dancer by Mary Lyn Ray and Lauren Stringer, which I brought with me to the writing center in hopes that I would find a good place and time to blog about it. There couldn't be a better place and time than here and now.

There's a place I go that's

green and grass, 

a place I thought that no one knew --

As you can see from the very poetic, opening lines of the book, the main character has a special place she likes to go for solitude -- a place not unlike the trail we hiked on Wednesday. And, as we found inspiration in the light shining through the trees on the trail, the little girl finds inspiration from a chance encounter with a deer...

I stayed still 

as he came nearer, nearer

until he was so close

I could almost have touched him.

He looked at me. I looked at him. 

As the book continues, we follow the girl to her ballet class and then back out to the special place where she first saw the deer. The deer returns, and the girl watches the way it lowers its antlers, grazes, and leaps and turns around her. Remembering how her dance teacher had told her to "hold your head as if you're wearing antlers," "listen with your cheekbones," and "look with the eyes in your shoulders," the girl responds to the deer's movements over and over. When the deer finally leaves, the girl realizes she had gotten lost in the inspiration the deer provided and found her own dance. The creative process had prevailed!

I hope that this week and in the coming weeks and months we can all find inspiration, and that we can re-ignite our faith -- faith not only in the creative process but, as it turns out, in humanity as well. 

Thanks to publisher Beach Lane Books for sending a review copy of Deer Dancer to me oh so long ago. Read one of my favorite other reviews of the book at What to Read to Your Kids.