Belinda in Paris

Belinda the Ballerina

by Amy Young

All of Paris was abuzz with the news-Belinda the ballerina was coming to town! But when Belinda's extra-large ballet shoes wind up in Pago Pago by mistake, she and a young ballerina must hit the streets to look for a new pair. Along the way, Belinda befriends a trio of Parisians, each with his or her own problem. Can Belinda save the day and still find ballet shoes before her performance that night? New and old fans alike will cheer magnifique! for Amy Young's big-footed (and big-hearted) ballerina, as she wins over the City of Lights.

Genres: Picture Books, France, Childrens, Paris, Pre K

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2005

About the author

Amy Young trained as a fine artist at Yale and received an MFA in painting from Indiana University as well as a law degree from Harvard. She lives in Spring Lake, Michigan.

Reviews

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belinda is set to dance in Paris, but---oh no!---her ballet shoes accidentally were rerouted to Pago Pago. She must go all over Paris in search of replacements before her ballet begins.

There couldn't be a more fun way to travel all over Paris than traveling with Belinda in search of ballet shoes. She manages to hit all the highlights, and solve her problem and the problems of others along the way.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprise hit with my four-year-old son. So cute! I love all the French details.

[eRin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The people of Paris are abuzz with excitement because Belinda is performing tonight. Everyone that is, except Belinda. See, Belinda has a bit of a problem with some missing luggage--specifically her pointe shoes. They're gone. And Belinda cannot perform without them! Will she have to cancel, or will the young ballerina Gabrielle help to save the day?

Really cute. The story is good and I loved the illustrations. They really give a good feel for Paris (well, except for that flag on top of the Eiffel Tower, but I'll let that slide). This is a good one.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun story about a talented ballerina with big feet and the many uses of baguettes. One page includes several strutting Paris fashion models, of one in particular Amelia always noted: "She mad."

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think I was going to like this book, but it was really cute. Belinda is a ballerina who is to perform in Paris. But she does not have her pointe shoes. Through a series of events she gets the shoes made, in just enough time.

Illustrations are a little weird...kind of sharp. But still pretty good.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone is so excited to see Belinda the ballerina perform. But Belinda has a problem. Her ballet shoes were lost as she flew to Paris, and no one has shoes her size to perform in that night. She begins seeking for a way to solve her problem.

Cute story and we used it to discuss being complex thinkers and problem solvers.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever solutions to a problem. Pretty illustrations.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baguette ballet shoes. 😂

[Lorena Magallanes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belinda in Paris is the story of a renowned ballerina scheduled to perform in Paris before a large crowd. Unfortunately Belinda's luggage was lost on her flight to Paris, and her feet were simply too big to find any point shoes that would fit her feet. Belinda, and her new ballerina friend Gabrielle run around the city looking for a way to have shoes made in time for the show that night!

Author and illustrator Amy Young included real sites from Paris in her book. She makes note of their appearances at the end of the book which include the famous Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Garden of Tuileries, the Loucre, Sainte Chappelle, The Paris Opera, and more. Her pictures are contained to one page, however they do bleed, and follow along with the story. The color pink seems to pop on every page that it is included on, reminding us throughout the story, the importance of Belinda's pink ballerina shoes.

[Katie Williams]

Belinda is a ballerina whose shoes end up flying to a different city that Paris, a day before her big show. So she must buy new shoes, but the only problem is that she has abnormally large feet. She and her friend need to find fabric and a good model of her feet for the shoemaker to construct her ballerina slippers. They end up using baguettes as a model as well as finding plenty of fabric to cover her feet. A sillyy math lesson would to have the kids be the shoemaker, and oh no! Belinda's lost her shoes and they must maker her new ones! Except Belinda's doesn't need baguette shaped shoes, she needs all different kinds of shapes. Assign a group a students to a shape and have them identify the shape and some vocabulary words to describe it. Then they must measure out how much fabric they should use to make Belinda some new shoes.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fantastic ballerina Belinda is finally performing in Paris! Everyone is excited, but things take a turn for the worse when Belinda's ballet shoes turn up missing. She has rather long feet, so she dashes about Paris trying to get a new pair of pointe shoes so the show can go on.

Sweet illustrations.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Belinda is getting ready to perform she realizes she has lost of ballet shoes and can't perform without them. On her journey to find them, she finds help along the way from many people in the community.

[Maren Prestegaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little M likes this one. And the little spot of Paris brings enough whimsy for Mommy to be happy reading too.
Wanting to read the original Belinda now. Love a girl with big feet!

update (2 days later): Little M hates this one. oh well.

[Lisita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Belinda books almost as much as my daughter. The beautiful art work takes me back to my days in France.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Belinda books are so charming!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darling book. The kids asked me to read it to them repeatedly when we got it from the library. 4 1/2 stars.

[Brooke]

Cute book with amazing pictures

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be a hit with little ballerinas everywhere. Belinda is faced with a problem when she loses her ballet shoes. Her search for new shoes lands her a new friend.

[Christie Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to show community. This book will inspire students to know how a community works when people all work together.

[Jenny Forgay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how this book went into the importance of friendships. It also gives children the opportunity to experience a different culture and words different cultures use.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story about a ballerina who loses her shoes and the adventure she has to get a new pair. This book is great for talking about different places and types of people.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heartfelt story about Belinda who is going to dance in Paris, but doesn't have her ballet shoes. When looking for them, she gets help from several places.

[Joe Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

How people can work together to solve a problem

[Todd Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be a good one to make a connection to if you have ever lost something

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course she would like anything with a pink ballerina in it, but I liked that it had French words and names that I could pronounce and give it a little flair when reading. :)

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Belinda the magnificent ballerina has arrived in Paris. But her shoes have not. A young ballerina takes her on a journey through the city to find shoes that will fit her large feet.

[Alexandria Shafer]

This was a different and interesting story. This book being more geared towards girls. Not my favorite book really but it does show a theme of team work and perseverance.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belinda the magnificent ballerina has arrived in Paris but she doesn't know if she can perform because there is a problem. Read to find out what the problem is and how she solves it.

[Miss Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a lovely and fun tour through Paris, and very little else by way of a story. But maybe that's OK, since the tour is so engaging.