Valentina de la Frou by E Everhart
A Review of a Book for Ballet Mad Girls Aged 7 to 9
Designed for Maximum Appeal
This book appears to have been designed by a marketing team for maximum appeal to ballet mad girls who are just learning to read. It is printed on pink paper, has glitter and flowers on the strawberry pink cover and a subtitle: Inside the perfume bottle a magical kingdom is waiting for you. It should appeal to girls in the seven to ten age group as it deals with emotional issues that young girls face in a sweet and unthreatening fantasy framework with elements of humour.
The Illustrations are Part of the Appeal
Illustrator, Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall has used an appealing without being overly cutesy style for her drawings that both illustrates and enhances the text. She brings a gentle roundness to the rather thin and frothy story line.
The Story Line
Valentina is a pupil at the Kingdom of Frosty Mountains Royal Ballet School. She has four close friends, Jessica Juniper, Crystal Coldwater, Laura-Bella Bergamotta, and Ursula of the Boughs, all of whom are very talented ballerinas. Valentina’s mother wants to take her out of the school and move her to Madame Malvolio’s Academy for Better-Brought-Up Young Ladies. She and her friends are devastated.
The Girls Think up a Scheme to Save Valentina
By working together as a team, Valentina’s friends help her to prepare for an audition for a part in a ballet with the famous ballerina Aurora Rosmarino. She has to stand up to the nastiness of catty fellow pupil Rubellina Goodfellow, and to believe that her friends are still supporting her even when Rubellina tricks her into thinking otherwise. She wins the part, and her mother changes her mind. Valentina can stay at the Royal Ballet School after all.
A Good Book for Beginner or Reluctant Readers
The stage when children move from the school reader to reading for pleasure is critical. If they don’t find books which appeal to them and are at the right level they may never become hooked on reading for pleasure.
Formula Books are Easy to Read
Valentina de la Frou is short – at around 5000 words for the story, with another 2000 or so added as an appendix, which build up and describe the fantasy elements of the kingdom. The storyline is lightweight, and the characters are somewhat two dimensional, but reluctant or beginner readers who love ballet will enjoy this book which has been designed for maximum appeal and readability.
Egmont Books ISBN 9 781405 233293
