Belinda the Ballerina

Belinda the Ballerina by Amy Young is a picture book intended for ages 3-8 and is about a little dancer who has very large feet. She gets criticized by dance judges that her feet are too big to be a dancer. In the end she is seen by others as an amazing dancer and they do not even notice her oversized feet. The book is aimed towards little girls because it is full of shades of pink and is all about dancing. I like that the author makes the story seem somewhat magical by starting out with "Once there was..." and putting a few of the pictures in a cutout circle. The names of the characters are very unique and fun like, "George Peach Crumbcake", "Winona Busywitch" and "Sir Fostercheese the Third". The book creates a very good message for young children because oftentimes this is the age that they are experimenting with new interests and may not be good at everything. Children need to learn to not worry about the opinions of others and to do things for their own enjoyment. It also teaches kids that flaws are what makes you an individual and they shouldn't let them get in the way of their dreams. It is eye-catching to see Belinda dancing in the air on different pages and the words in all different places. This is very age-appropriate because there is not an overload of words on each page.