And All that Jazz: Silver Shoes Book One (Samantha-Ellen Bound, Random House)

Ten-year-old Ellie loves all forms of dance—tap, ballet and most of all, jazz. As one of a group of aspiring dancers at the Silver Shoes Dance Studio, competition is a big part of her dancing life. Not only is the Dance Academy entering the Jazz Groove Dance Competition, which means a big audition for Ellie, but a talented newcomer named Ashley has joined the troupe, seriously ruffling Ellie’s feathers. This book opens a window onto the narrow but all-engulfing world of competitive jazz ballet. Told in the first person, it makes the reader privy to all of Ellie’s dreams and her fears. Some of the characters are surprisingly catty (as are their mothers), and Ellie herself isn’t always pleasant, but in the end she shows that she is, after all, a good sport. While some of the language is pretty basic, the author has captured the total passion that her characters feel for dance, and the descriptions of getting ‘into the zone’ while performing really ring true. There’s a good glossary of dance terms at the end, as well as tips on how to do a perfect grande jete, and the black-and-white illustrations give an accurate depiction of dancers, albeit with manga faces. Reluctant readers aged eight to nine should enjoy And All That Jazz, particularly girls and boys who dance (there are two boy dancers in the story, although they are minor characters). This is the first book in the ‘Silver Shoes’ series.

Louise Pfanner is an author, illustrator and bookseller

Category: Reviews