"Stories From the Ballet" collects classic ballet stories in an illustrated collection for young readers. The book includes the plots of such ballets as "The Nutcracker," "Coppelia," "Swan Lake" and many more. The re-tellings stay true to the original plots of the ballets.
"The Ballet of the Elephants" is an unusual ballet picture book by Leda Schubert. The book, which is suitable for ages 4 to 8, tells the extraordinary true story of a 1942 project of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that culminated in 50 elephants dancing a Balanchine ballet.
Fictional ballet-dancing mouse Angelina Ballerina has a PBS television show but also is the star of a series of illustrated books for children 3 to 7. In the first book, Angelina's obsession with dance interrupts her daily activities until her parents find a solution. In later books Angelina celebrates holidays, learns to ice skate and gets a new baby sister.
"The Ballet Shoes" by Noel Streatfeild may be the most famous of ballet-themed books. The book is the first in a popular British mid-century series for 8- to 12-year-old girls. In the book, three orphaned sisters try to make some extra money by training for the stage, the youngest girl as a ballerina.
"The Baby-Sitters Club" series is most famous for its focus on the adventures that young girls have while baby sitting in the fictional Stoneybrook, Connecticut. However, the books featuring "junior baby sitter" Jessi Ramsey also have a focus on dance because Jessi is a dancer. Jessi appears in several Baby-Sitters Club books, including "Jessi and the Dance School Phantom" and "Jessi and the Awful Secret."
The teen novel "A Time for Dancing" by Davida Wills Hurwin follows best friends Sam and Jules, who have been dancing together as long as they have been friends. The book tells the story of what happens to the girls after Jules is diagnosed with cancer.
"Come a Stranger" by Cynthia Voigt is part of the Tillerman saga series, but deviates from the Tillerman family's story to tell the tale of Mina Smiths. Mina is an African-American girl who aspires to be a ballet dancer, although she faces obstacles, including prejudice, along the way. The book is suitable for readers in grades 5 and up.