Ballerino Nate by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Illustrated by R. W. Alley.32 p., Dial, 2006.

Gender prejudice can limit children's experience of their choices. When Nate's kindergarten class attends a performance by a ballet school, he falls in ove with ballet. Nate's brother, Ben, repeatedly tells him that he can't study ballet, because he's a boy, and that ballerinas have to wear a dress and pink shoes. Nate's parents calmly dispel these myths, and Nate asserts his right to dance. But Nate wants passionately to learn ballet, and until he can begin classes, he dances at home, in his yard, and on his driveway, and reads books about ballet. When he does begin classes, he's a bit alarmed to find that he's the only boy there. but he loves his teacher and he loves the class. In response to Nate's continuing discouragement about whether he can really be a ballerina, his mother takes him to a professional ballet, where he is not only stunned by the beauty of the performance, but also sees that half of the dancers are men. Afterward, his mother takes him backstage, where he meets one of the male dancer, who explains that the word ballerina is reserved for women who are the top dancers in a company - and that the equivalent term for men is ballerino. Now he knows he can truly be a ballet dancer. Playfully illustrated, this story shows children that it's possible to follow your heart even in spite of gender stereotypes.

Ages 3-8