Monday Children's Picks of the Week

As I have mentioned in past posts my 3 year-old not only loves books, but she loves books about ballerinas, princesses and fairies. She loves to play dress up and dance along to ballet music.

We've read an assortment of ballet themed books. Angelina Ballerina and Ballet Star are some regular favorites for my daughter.

So when I discovered The Yellow Tutu by Kirsten Bramsen I knew we had a winner.

Published in 2009 by Random House Children's Books, this story is about a little girl named Margo who receives a beautiful bright yellow tutu for her birthday. Margo is so excited about her tutu that she wears it to school....on her head like a hat. Margo thinks she looks like a ray of sunshine and that all the children will be amazed. But when she arrives at school Margo is horrified to discover her classmates are not impressed. They actually make fun of her! But then along comes Pearl, another classmate of Margo's who owns a pink tutu. Pearl has a wonderful imagination just like Margo and she quickly stands up for Margo saying that Margo looks like a sunflower... or maybe a lion. The two girls become friends and spend the afternoon playing tea party and wearing their tutus on their heads, of course. :)

I really liked this book. Mainly because Margo reminded me of my daughter (albeit a little older). Before I even knew about this book my daughter on her own discovered what great hats tutus can make. This picture was taken one day when she came up to me and said, "Mommy look, I am a lion. Rooooaaaaaar!!!!" I cracked up laughing. So you can imagine how much she liked this story about Margo and her yellow tutu.

The only objection I had was when the children make fun of Margo. One boy says she looks "stupid" -- a word I don't like to use with my daughter, so I substituted "silly" toning down the meanness of the kids. The point is still made that some children aren't nice, that some don't understand a game and there are other children, like Pearl, who show love and friendship. My daughter hasn't focused on the meanness of the kids, she just loves that the girls have tutus and that they play tea party at the end of the book, which is fine by me.

The illustrations are a delightful addition to the story. The artist, Carin Bramsen used bright colors and painted pictures that were both whimsical and real. They have an almost vintage feel to them. From what I can tell it looks like Carin and Kristen are sisters and this was their first book. I am hoping I'll see more of the work in the future.