What do you think?
Rate this book
Angelina Ballerina
Angelina's Cinderella
The classic bestselling Angelina Ballerina picture book about Angelina performing as Cinderella in a traveling tour is back in a beautiful, refreshed hardcover edition!
Angelina is playing the lead in the Cinderella Dance Tour traveling across Mouseland. The final stop on the tour is at the grand Von Whiskers Castle, but just before the performance, the scenery is ruined! Angelina and her friends know the show must go on, but how?
© 2024 Helen Craig Ltd and Katharine Holabird. The Angelina Ballerina name and character and the dancing Angelina logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited, Katharine Holabird, and Helen Craig.
Angelina is playing the lead in the Cinderella Dance Tour traveling across Mouseland. The final stop on the tour is at the grand Von Whiskers Castle, but just before the performance, the scenery is ruined! Angelina and her friends know the show must go on, but how?
© 2024 Helen Craig Ltd and Katharine Holabird. The Angelina Ballerina name and character and the dancing Angelina logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited, Katharine Holabird, and Helen Craig.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published May 7, 2024
2 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Katharine Holabird
292 books82 followersKatharine Holabird is an American writer, best known as the author of the Angelina Ballerina series.
As a child, Holabird was an avid reader who loved fairy tales and stories about heroic animals, and she frequently saw ballets like Cinderella and Swan Lake with her grandmother. The young, imaginative Holabird loved animals, playing in her tree house, and dancing with her sisters. In 1969, she received a B.A. in literature from Bennington College in Vermont and then worked at Bennington College as a literary editor for a year after her graduation. Holabird then found herself in Italy as a freelance journalist where she met her husband, Michael Haggiag. The two married in 1974 and moved to London where she continued to write and worked at a nursery school.
In 1983, her first children’s book, Angelina Ballerina, was published. Holabird’s son, Adam, was her inspiration for the character Henry, and Angelina’s character was inspired by her daughters’ love for dressing up and dancing. Holabird wrote the first draft of Angelina Ballerina at the kitchen table with her daughters dancing around her. In fact, the Angelina books were originally about a girl, but then Craig drew a mouse, and Holabird loved it. “The impulsive character of Angelina came alive,” says Holabird, “and seemed to pirouette off the page with enthusiasm and energy, while her plump and ebullient body expressed drama and attitude in every twitch of her tail.” Angelina is a very emotional character; she is sensitive and often bursts into tears right before offering an apology. She struggles with her conscience but always ends up doing the right thing—which is very familiar to many young children. The universal childhood themes in Angelina include friendship, jealousy, loyalty, & dedication. Holabird’s goal was to realistically portray the difficulties of growing up. According to Holabird, it is a ballerina book for “all the passionate little dancers and performers in the world,” including her own two daughters, which is why she “decided to explore the impulsive, highly emotional character of a small but determined ballerina.”
The first American edition of Angelina Ballerina was published in 1984. A year later, Holabird received the Kentucky Bluegrass Award for Angelina Ballerina. In 1986 and 1987, she received the ALA Notable Book Awards. Angelina’s Christmas was selected as Child Study Association’s Children’s Book of the Year in 1987. The following year, Holabird and Craig published Alexander and the Dragon, their first Alexander book; it is aimed at preschool children who want to be consoled about bedtime monsters. In 1990, Holabird wrote the Alexander sequel, Alexander and the Magic Boat, which portrays a strong mother/son relationship while the two go on a voyage to imaginary worlds. Also in 1990, Holabird received the British Book Design and Production award.
In 1999, HIT Entertainment in London (known for Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, and Barney) secured the rights for Angelina Ballerina and commissioned Grand Slamm Children's Films to make an animated TV pilot. HIT also developed a lot of Angelina merchandise. Angelina made her worldwide television debut in 2001 on CITV in the United Kingdom. In 2002, the Angelina series premiered on PBS Kids TV in the United States. Angelina Ballerina’s Invitation to the Ballet received the prestigious Oppenheim Platinum Award in the U.S. in 2004. That same year, Angelina was named the official spokesperson of National Dance Week in the United States. In 2005, Angelina made her debut on PBS Kids Sprout, a twenty-four-hour digital television channel for preschoolers in the U.S.
As a child, Holabird was an avid reader who loved fairy tales and stories about heroic animals, and she frequently saw ballets like Cinderella and Swan Lake with her grandmother. The young, imaginative Holabird loved animals, playing in her tree house, and dancing with her sisters. In 1969, she received a B.A. in literature from Bennington College in Vermont and then worked at Bennington College as a literary editor for a year after her graduation. Holabird then found herself in Italy as a freelance journalist where she met her husband, Michael Haggiag. The two married in 1974 and moved to London where she continued to write and worked at a nursery school.
In 1983, her first children’s book, Angelina Ballerina, was published. Holabird’s son, Adam, was her inspiration for the character Henry, and Angelina’s character was inspired by her daughters’ love for dressing up and dancing. Holabird wrote the first draft of Angelina Ballerina at the kitchen table with her daughters dancing around her. In fact, the Angelina books were originally about a girl, but then Craig drew a mouse, and Holabird loved it. “The impulsive character of Angelina came alive,” says Holabird, “and seemed to pirouette off the page with enthusiasm and energy, while her plump and ebullient body expressed drama and attitude in every twitch of her tail.” Angelina is a very emotional character; she is sensitive and often bursts into tears right before offering an apology. She struggles with her conscience but always ends up doing the right thing—which is very familiar to many young children. The universal childhood themes in Angelina include friendship, jealousy, loyalty, & dedication. Holabird’s goal was to realistically portray the difficulties of growing up. According to Holabird, it is a ballerina book for “all the passionate little dancers and performers in the world,” including her own two daughters, which is why she “decided to explore the impulsive, highly emotional character of a small but determined ballerina.”
The first American edition of Angelina Ballerina was published in 1984. A year later, Holabird received the Kentucky Bluegrass Award for Angelina Ballerina. In 1986 and 1987, she received the ALA Notable Book Awards. Angelina’s Christmas was selected as Child Study Association’s Children’s Book of the Year in 1987. The following year, Holabird and Craig published Alexander and the Dragon, their first Alexander book; it is aimed at preschool children who want to be consoled about bedtime monsters. In 1990, Holabird wrote the Alexander sequel, Alexander and the Magic Boat, which portrays a strong mother/son relationship while the two go on a voyage to imaginary worlds. Also in 1990, Holabird received the British Book Design and Production award.
In 1999, HIT Entertainment in London (known for Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, and Barney) secured the rights for Angelina Ballerina and commissioned Grand Slamm Children's Films to make an animated TV pilot. HIT also developed a lot of Angelina merchandise. Angelina made her worldwide television debut in 2001 on CITV in the United Kingdom. In 2002, the Angelina series premiered on PBS Kids TV in the United States. Angelina Ballerina’s Invitation to the Ballet received the prestigious Oppenheim Platinum Award in the U.S. in 2004. That same year, Angelina was named the official spokesperson of National Dance Week in the United States. In 2005, Angelina made her debut on PBS Kids Sprout, a twenty-four-hour digital television channel for preschoolers in the U.S.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 16, 2024
A wider view of Mouseland! Loved the flowery illustration in this one. Helen Craig does delightful work!
October 17, 2019
Angelina and her ballet troupe tour Mouseland, putting on a performance of Cinderella in which she has the starring role. All goes well in Great Gouda, and at the Old Stilton Theater, but on their way to their final performance at Von Whiskers Castle, all of their sets are ruined. Now Angelina and her compatriots must find a way to create new sets in time for their performance. After all, the show must go on...
Like the two other Angelina Ballerina picture-books that I have read - Angelina Ballerina and Angelina on Stage - I thought that Angelina's Cinderella paired an engaging, sweet story with cute illustrations. I don't know that I was as charmed here as I was with the original, which reminded me a bit of the Brambly Hedge books, with its portrayal of a miniature mouse world, but it was still entertaining. Recommended to all young ballet lovers, and to fans of that dancing mouse, Angelina Ballerina.
Like the two other Angelina Ballerina picture-books that I have read - Angelina Ballerina and Angelina on Stage - I thought that Angelina's Cinderella paired an engaging, sweet story with cute illustrations. I don't know that I was as charmed here as I was with the original, which reminded me a bit of the Brambly Hedge books, with its portrayal of a miniature mouse world, but it was still entertaining. Recommended to all young ballet lovers, and to fans of that dancing mouse, Angelina Ballerina.
September 23, 2017
Holabird, Katharine Angelina's Cinderella, illustrated by Helen Craig. PICTURE BOOK. Viking (Penguin), 2015. $14.99. Content: G. REPRINT
Angelina hits the road with her ballet troupe. Traveling together is hard but fun, and dancing the Cinderella part each night is more than worth it. But when the trailer carrying their set overturns in a mud puddle, everything is ruined. How can the show go on if there are no props?
Fans of the Angelina Ballerina franchise may enjoy this book, but it is unlikely to find a much wider audience. The text is long and very wordy, and it lacks passion or heart. In addition, the plot moves slowly.
EL (K-3) -- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Sydney G, K-6 Library Media Specialist
Angelina hits the road with her ballet troupe. Traveling together is hard but fun, and dancing the Cinderella part each night is more than worth it. But when the trailer carrying their set overturns in a mud puddle, everything is ruined. How can the show go on if there are no props?
Fans of the Angelina Ballerina franchise may enjoy this book, but it is unlikely to find a much wider audience. The text is long and very wordy, and it lacks passion or heart. In addition, the plot moves slowly.
EL (K-3) -- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Sydney G, K-6 Library Media Specialist
September 8, 2025
Miss Lilly's Ballet School travels all over Mouseland performing The Cinderalla Dance Tour with Angelina as Cinderella. On the way to their final performance at Von Whiskers Castle, disaster strikes almost canceling the performance. Angelina and her classmates find a way to make the show go on.
October 5, 2018
Ballet, a road trip and homesickness and overcoming a setback - this one has a lot of great elements in the plot.
October 31, 2019
It's a nice, light story of Angelina and her Cinderella touring group, and the added issue of homesickness.
October 6, 2023
I don't think it's right for kids to leave their families and go on a performing tour. They are children! They can do recitals in the towns where they live. That's my old person grouchy opinion.
December 27, 2024
Loved the illustrations in this one!
April 1, 2016
Angelina’s Cinderella
Angelina’s Cinderella is a book about a little mouse named Angelina and she goes on a Cinderella dance tour. Angelina gets home sick being away on tour. As they are going to the final show in the castle the wagon with all of the props gets stuck in the mud and the props get destroyed. When they get to the castle they figure out a way to save the show. They make props with items found in the castle. They put on the final show in the castle and the show goes perfectly.
The front cover of the book Angelina’s Cinderella is pretty and purple. It has a picture of Angelina in her pretty dress with the stage set up in the background with the audience looking at her like she was a princess. They are stars in the back ground and the title with the authors and illustrators names at the bottom. The end-pages have a beautiful painting of a million different kinds of flowers. On the front flaps there in a summary of the book and a quote. On the back flaps there is a list of all of the Angelina books by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig. The back of the book has a picture of Angelina in the play and another summary of what happens in the book.
Angelina’s Cinderella is a book about a little mouse named Angelina and she goes on a Cinderella dance tour. Angelina gets home sick being away on tour. As they are going to the final show in the castle the wagon with all of the props gets stuck in the mud and the props get destroyed. When they get to the castle they figure out a way to save the show. They make props with items found in the castle. They put on the final show in the castle and the show goes perfectly.
The front cover of the book Angelina’s Cinderella is pretty and purple. It has a picture of Angelina in her pretty dress with the stage set up in the background with the audience looking at her like she was a princess. They are stars in the back ground and the title with the authors and illustrators names at the bottom. The end-pages have a beautiful painting of a million different kinds of flowers. On the front flaps there in a summary of the book and a quote. On the back flaps there is a list of all of the Angelina books by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig. The back of the book has a picture of Angelina in the play and another summary of what happens in the book.
December 4, 2015
Nice pastel drawings tell the story of the traveling troupe of mouselings. They are traveling through Mouseland performing their ballet. Just before they arrive at the castle for the grand finale of their tour, their props and scenery are destroyed. They do not know what they will do, but the countess allows them to use the resources of the castle to replace everything. The final show is better than ever.
December 19, 2015
Silly Angelina, making me regret all the ballets I've never seen!
The focus of this book is *not* the story of Cinderella, however - it's a slice-of-life for dancers on tour as well as a lesson in optimism and ingenuity.
Well done!
The focus of this book is *not* the story of Cinderella, however - it's a slice-of-life for dancers on tour as well as a lesson in optimism and ingenuity.
Well done!
April 21, 2016
I found this book to be a bit dull. The lesson of problem solving and working with what you have seemed a bit forced.
November 16, 2016
I love Angelina!
September 2, 2024
A kind Countess helps save the show after a storm destroys the shows scenes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews