Elena's Serenade by Campbell Geeslin

Illustrated by Ana Juan.40 p., Atheneum/Schwartz, 2004. Anger at prejudice can provide the energy for creativity and success. Such is the case for Elena, who is furious when her father tells her that she can't be a glassblower like him because she is a girl. Elena disguises herself as a boy in her brother's old clothes and sets out to learn glassblowing. On her way, she discovers with delight that she can make music with her glassblowing pipe. She uses her music to help the animals she meets along the way, and they encourage and support her. When she reaches a glassblowing factory, then men don't think she's capable of anything, but she and they find that when she plays music through her pipe, she creates glass objects related to the song - for example, when she plays a song called "Estrellita," she blows a little glass star - and her glass stars become wildly popular. Eventually Elena returns home, gliding on the back of a large glass bird she has blown, and shows her father what she can do. Her father accepts her as a colleague. The warmly colored acrylic and crayon illustrations express the magic of this story, which encourages children not to accept "girls can't" as an answer and to find support for following their dreams. Ages 4-7