The Silver Locket

Angelina Ballerina

by Katharine Holabird, Helen Craig (Illustrator)

Miss Lilly is having a party, and Angelina wants to look very special. So she borrows her mother’s special locket without asking. Angelina has so much fun at the party, but when it is time to leave, she can’t find the locket! What will Angelina do?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published December 22, 2004

About the author

Katharine 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.

Reviews

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angelina borrows her mothers silver locket without exactly getting permission to wear to a party. She loses it. Her mother finds it in her sister's purse. That night her mother says she is old enough to wear the silver locket, but Angelina is much wiser now and says, no, it's much too precious.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this Angelina Ballerina adventure, Angelina really wants to wear her mother's locket to Miss Lilly's Party. When she tries to ask her mother for permission, her mother doesn't hear her because she is too busy trying to get ready to go shopping for a new dress for her Anniversary dinner. Even so, she couldn't get permission, Angelina decides to wear the locket anyway. At the party, Angelina loses the locket. Angelina feels really bad about losing the locket. When she finally decides to confess what she has done to her mother who is frantically looking for something, Angelina discovers that the locket isn't lost after all. Her mother was going crazy looking for Father's bow tie. Fortunately, at the party her little sister, Polly, found it and put it in her little Purse, which is where her mother found it. At the end, her mother decides that Angelina is old enough to wear her locket. Angelina yells out that she isn't ready or old enough and goes to bed. The story is sweet and teaches a valuable lesson. The illustrations are very nice, as well. This is an AR 3.6 level book.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Angelina gets into a little squeeze that she doesn't think she'll ever get out of. But what role does little Polly play in all this. A nice story that teaches children that it's always good to tell the truth, no matter the consequences. =)

[Cece · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It is a good book to read to children to emphasize to always ask before borrowing other's belongings.

[Alexandria K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is good the pictures are good, too.