- Ballerino Nate
Absolutely entranced with his first viewing of the ballet at a local school's performance, Nate is thrilled to partake of dance classes. He's anxious, however, about the naysaying of his older brother, Ben, who "knew almost everything" and who insists that Nate will have to wear pink shoes and a fluffy dress, since "all ballerinas are girls." Despite Nate's love of his ballet class, he's troubled by being, as Ben warned, the only boy; finally his parents take him to a professional adult ballet, where he's delighted to see all the men dancing and to talk to a real grownup male dancer, who explains that "ballerina" is a term just for women but there are plenty of men dancing too. The plot shoves some reality aside for dramatic necessity (most people are well aware of the gendered nature of the term "ballerina," and a lot of resources—including Nate's dance teacher—that could correct Ben's bad information are willfully ignored in order to get to this particular resolution), and the book sabotages its point somewhat by overbalancing the mild solution with the vivid and aggressively defensive setup. It's refreshing, though, to see a book about gender opportunity that focuses on the widening of male, rather than female, [End Page 343] horizons; Nate's unfettered enthusiasm is depicted credibly, and its fettering in the aftermath of Ben's pronouncements is knowingly and sympathetically conveyed. Alley's line-and-watercolor illustrations, touched with colored pencil, portray the people as dogs, a conceit that overstretches a bit on some of the more physical details (the ballet dogs in backless dresses en pointe are particularly odd) but that makes the dance world generally a friendly and unintimidating place to romp; some compositions would benefit from a clearer focus amid a pageful of details and varied similar-toned pigments, but the pleasant crowding adds to the inviting informality. Isadora's Not Just Tutus (BCCB 4/03) is a better early ballet book that makes clear dance has plenty of room for both sexes, but this could be a useful tool in a battle against pink and girly stereotypes in various areas, and it would bolster any uncertain young danseurs thinking about sidling up to the barre.