Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird

They have lost too much of the essence of the originals and the images are too garish for my liking. I must admit, I’m not much of a fan of the television show or the accompanying updated series of books.

Delicate and traditional, but with plenty of detail that enhances the story, any of them would look good in a frame on the wall. What really makes these stories for me is Helen Craig’s beautiful illustrations. As I said, a simple story, but told so well and with a lovely message about hard-work and dedication.

At first, her mother calls her dancing a nuisance, but then her parents soon realise the solution is to enrol Angelina into ballet class, where she works really hard… and one day becomes a famous ballerina. In Angelina Ballerina, we discover that little Angelina Mouseling loves to dance more than anything else in the world, so much so, she would often forget what she was supposed to be doing. I think that’s what makes the books so endearing – the stories are simple but utterly relatable. As she discusses in this Guardian article, she “ would eavesdrop on all the jealousies, upsets and dramas that erupted constantly in the class and elaborate on them”. The books are based on the real-life ballet experiences of the author’s own daughters. And since buying the first in the series, we’ve since invested in a couple more, namely Angelina’s Birthday, which we gave Miss E on her birthday, and Angelina and the Princess. Now more than 30 years old, the book is utterly charming and beautiful. I didn’t own it as a child, but I remember seeing it at friends’ houses and loving the look of the little dancing mouse. The first book that came to mind was Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird. Just before she started lessons, we were keen to buy her some books so she could learn more about what ballet entailed and what she could expect from the class. She loves dancing and wearing her little ballerina costume, and it’s been amazing to see her progress over the last two and a half years. Little Miss E has been going to ballet classes since she was three years old.