Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella

Ella Bella Ballerina

by James Mayhew

The 2nd book in the delightful Ella Bella Ballerina series will transport you to the magical world of Cinderella in this enchanting re-imagination of the classic fairy tale. Ella Bella loves her ballet class, which is conducted by the kindly Madame Rosa at an old theatre that seems touched by magic. One day, when Ella loses one of her slippers, Madame Rosa lends her another pair for dancing―and is then reminded of Cinderella and her story of the lost slipper. Madame Rosa recounts Cinderella's tale to her students, and Ella Bella listens with great interest. When their day's lesson has ended Ella lingers in the theatre, then opens Madame Rosa's music box and listens as it plays melodies from the Cinderella ballet. Suddenly, Cinderella's fairy godmother magically appears, and Ella Bella is transported into the beloved story of Cinderella. This beautiful book's final page describes the ballet Cinderella, with music by the great Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cinderella, Fairy Tales, Music, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

James Mayhew's first book for children was Katie's Pictures Show, (Orchard Books 1989) establishing the long running series about a child's adventures in an art gallery. Many of his books have a cultural agenda and James is passionate about introducing children to art, music, opera, ballet and traditional tales.

He has published over 60 books, and illustrated and written for many other colleagues including Philippa Pearce, Martin Waddell and Jackie Morris.

As a storyteller he has devised and performed a series of sell-out concerts for children with the de Havilland Philharmonic Orchestra, and has participated in prom performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

He has also created designs and illustrations for the Kirov Mariinsky Opera of St Petersburg and in 1994 won the New York Times award for one of the ten best illustrated books on the year (The Boy and The Cloth of Dreams).

He has made regular appearances at the National Galleries in Edinburgh and London and visits many schools, and arts and literary festivals.

James is a member of the Art Worker's Guild and the Society of Authors.

Reviews

[Abigail]

Ella Bella, the eponymous little ballerina in author/illustrator James Mayhew's picture-book series devoted to her adventures, is swept off into the fairy-tale world of Cinderella in this story. Listening to the music from Prokofiev's ballet, she suddenly finds herself encountering Cinderella's fairy godmother, as well as the Fairies of the Four Seasons, and getting involved in Cinderella's visit to the Prince's ball...

As with the other titles in this series that I have read, Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella pairs an engaging text, one in which the young heroine gets to experience a world-famous ballet firsthand, with colorful, appealing illustrations. I mentioned in my review of Ella Bella Ballerina and the Nutcracker that I think these books make a good introduction to famous ballets. That said, they are less focused on actually learning to be a ballet dancer, as the children in Madame Rosa's class seem never to practice different positions, as beginners would do, but rather, flit around to the music of whatever ballet is the subject of that book. For stories about young people actually learning ballet, I'd recommend the Tallulah books - Tallulah's Tutu , Tallulah's Solo , etc. - which make a nice counterpart to Mayhew's series. Recommended (with the limitation mentioned above) to young ballet lovers, and to those who have read and enjoyed the other Ella Bella Ballerina books.

[Kathryn]

Somehow, the Ella Bella Ballerina books (see also Ella Bella Ballerina and the Sleeping Beauty) are nice and cute and a tribute to imagination and dace, but not quite all I am hoping for. I love the illustrations, but somehow the text just feels a little flat. I think what frustrates me, as a ballet dancer and teacher, is that there is very little about ballet dancing in these stories. Ella Bella is a ballet dancer, she goes to ballet class (in a way cool old theater which, um, most little ballerinas in the real world don't get to dance in!), she gets inspired by seeing some silver ballet slippers, and she imagines herself following along with Cinderella's in the ballet "Cinderella" It's a very cute idea, and I certainly don't *dislike* the book, but it just really could be so much MORE. I think even the illustrations could have been a bit more ballet-ish in some places, though other aspects are just so lovely (like the "stars" in the sky). On the last page, Mayhew gives some nice background on Prokofiev's "Cinderella" ballet (such as the slippers being silver, not glass--aha! now the silver slippers in the story make sense!) but I'm not sure how engrossing this would be to the target audience. I think it's good for adults to read this background info first and then if kids have questions as you're reading them the story (like, where are the glass slippers or why are there multiple fairy godmothers), you have the background of the ballet. It's certainly worth a read if you're looking for something full of imagination and lovely illustrations (and, hey, nothing wrong with that!) but if you want something on ballet *dancing* or more the sort of day-in, day-out dance for younger children, try something by Rachel Isadora like Lili at Ballet.

[Donna Mork]

A retelling of Cinderella where Ella Bella the Balerina helps Cinderella get to the ball, then helps the prince find her after she leaves at Midnight.

[Jessie]

Ella Bella borrows a pair of ballet shoes for the day because she somehow only brought one shoe, so her teacher plays Cinderella music that day. This mixes some more common versions of Cinderella with the ballet story, and it talks about that mixing in the notes at the end.

[Adeline Forkner]

In this book Ella Bella forgot one ballet shoe so her teacher had to lend her one. Her teacher told her that she reminds her of Cinderella and so the ballet class danced to a Cinderella music the rest of the class. nice everyone had left Ella continued dancing and then Cinderella’s fairy godmother came and asked if she had shoes that Cinderella could borrow and then Ella got some shoes for her and her and the fairy godmother went to tell Cinderella to go to the ball. Bother Ella and Cinderella showed up to the ball and Cinderella danced with the prince but when twelve o’clock came around they had to run away but Cinderella’s shoe fell off while she was running so Ella went back to retrieve the shoe. Ella told the prince where ella was and brought them back together. Ella then went back to her own world and then went back home.

I thought this was a good story and I liked how it related to the actual Cinderella story. I thought it was a really cute spin on the Cinderella story and I think any little girl would love this book.

I could have this book in my Libra ray of books in my classroom for kids to read during silent reading times. Although there isn’t a good moral lesson in this book it is still very enjoyable for kids to read and could help their reading skills improve.

[Ava Montandon]

In this book, a little girl goes to her ballerina class and forgets one shoe. Her teacher has an extra book full of them and lets Ella Bella find a pair to wear in class. The teacher then remarks how Ella Bella reminds her of Cinderella because she was missing one shoe. They then proceed to dance to Cinderella for their class. After the class is over, everyone leaves but Ella Bella. She stays and continues dancing and dances herself into the Cinderella story. The book then proceeds to tell the whole story of Cinderella and Ella Bella gets to experience it. She has a wonderful time and then comes back to reality. She then returns the shoes back to her teacher and leaves with her mom. I really liked this book because it was short and sweet. It effectively told the story and portrayed it very well. I thought the illustrations were absolutely amazing. I think they definitely would catch a kid's eye and keep their attention. I would use this book in my classroom by showing my kids that it's okay to make mistakes and forget things. I like how the teacher made no big deal about Ella Bella forgetting her shoes but instead made a whole story about it to make her feel good.

[Nicola]

Miss 4 and I are slowly working our way through this series of books. She loves them! It's a nice integration of story and ballet. I love reading the added information at the back about the history of each ballet!

Miss 4 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Ian McHugh]

Love the Ella Bella books - such a great way to introduce classical music and opera to youngsters. My two loved the illustrations of this which brought Cinderella to life. Budding ballet dancers as a result too.

[Lady reading under the Willow]

The Ella Bella Ballerina books are the prime choice currently for our resident two-year-old. She loves them to pieces. They are sweet and fun to read, giving a good introduction to each of the ballets they feature.

[Charlotte]

I loved it.

[Katie C]

A great classic story , with a ballet twist.

[Set]

Nice illustrations of the Cinderella ballet from Ella's imagination while dancing in her ballet class.

[Jenna Mills]

Okay

[Joseph]

A very cute book about Ella Bella forgetting her dance shoe and having the teacher talk to her about Cinderella and what happens with the fairy god mothers.

[EBG]

no

[Blair]

Enjoyed the book and the illustrations!

[Charlotte Bea]

Yes, in fact, I did log this and give it five stars because it has my favorite illustration ever in a childrens book that even at 16, I still find mesmerizing.

[Samantha]

I know, this isn't my typical genre to review, but I read A LOT of children's books. I don't really mind though...at least I'm reading! And I felt I owed this book a review, after all, it's become a treasured story in my house.

One of the latest trends in fiction (especially Young Adult fiction) is to take the fairy tales we grew up reading and reinvent them. Examples of this include Sisters Red & Sweetly by Jackson Pearce, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and the various movies/tv shows filling the screens these days. Why shouldn't children's books follow suite?

I babysit a couple of girls who LOVE Cinderella. The have me read the same Disney story just about every single day. It has gotten to the point where I've memorized the questions they will ask about each page and can answer them before they even ask. Three weeks ago, I was tired of reading the same story and suggested we go to the library to pick out a new book. The girls were thrilled when they found Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella...the combination of the two things they love most...ballerinas and Cinderella! At first, I groaned inside at the thought of having to read this book every day for the next three weeks, but after starting it, I found I really enjoyed the story too. The pictures are sweet and the story is adorable. I had to return the book today...and now we have a new Cinderella book (Cinderella's Dress by Nancy Willard). I hope the new book is as lovely as Ella Bella Ballerina & Cinderella.

[Britley Madsen]

Mayhew, James. Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella. USA: Barron's Educational Series Inc., 2009. Print. Traditional tales. This story is about a little girl named Ella Bella who goes to a ballet class. She forgets one of her shoes, so her teacher allows her to borrow one. This reminds her teacher of the story of Cinderella. Ella Bella listens to the music and imagines that she helps Cinderella. This story tells the story of Cinderella but allows a girl to be involved in the story. There are many colors that captures the reader's attention. The text is written in white space to help the reader focus on the story. This book teaches the importance of imagination and creativity. Also, it teaches the reader that it is possible to make a difference in another's life. I would read this book to a child who enjoys reading fairy tales or someone who enjoys dancing.

[The Library Lady]

See my review on its companion Ella Bella Ballerina and the Sleeping Beauty.
I think I've realized the problem here. Mayhew is a gifted writer and it's fine for him to make books based on great paintings. No need to have an understanding of HOW Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa or how Van Gogh made his sunflowers.
But to write about dancing, you have to know something about it, have some feel for it. And Mayhew doesn't seem to know zip about ballet, in terms of DANCING!

[Laura]

This would probably delight young children who are big fans of ballerinas and fairy tales, but I wasn't overtly impressed. It was colorfully pink and girlish, which some children might love. The pictures were pretty nice, but I wasn't enthralled or anything like that. I probably wouldn't recommend because I was a little bored when reading it.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2011...

[Rakisha]

Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella is a quaint picture book about a young ballet student who goes from learning the dance for the ballet Cinderella to actually being sucked into Cinerella's reality. The little one helps the fairy godmothers and Cinderella get her happily ever after. The water color and ink illustrations complement the type, and make it a wonderful story to read aloud at bedtime with your budding ballerinas or ballerinos.

[Faith Elizabeth Hough]

I love James Mayhew's illustrations and his clear love for both visual and performing arts that comes out in his books. My girls love the frilly tutus. So it's a win all around. :) (Thanks, Liz, for alerting me to its existence!)

[Karen Dransfield]

A lovely whimsical story about a young ballet student discovering the Cinderella story as it was written for the famous orchestral music and famous ballet. It also has a section in the back looking at the artists who created both.

[Stephanie]

Pretty little variant of Cinderella. Cute little illustrations.

[Jen]

A unique cinderella retelling with a very likeable modern-day protagonist who is naturally strong without being rude or contrived. Love the art!

[Sara]

stumbled across this at work

[Annie]

I know my students will love his book.

[Jaime]

Adorable little girl book that my little Ella-Bella just loves.

[Betsy]

My daughter LOVES these books about Ella Bella. I find them trite in text, but lovely in illustrations. I do like that the classical ballet story is interwoven....