169. Ballewiena

Ballewiena. Rebecca Bender. 2022. 32 pages. [Source: Library] 

First sentence: Dotty dreamed of being a ballet dancer. When told to sit, she would plie. When asked to stay, she would assemble. When commanded to roll over, she would pirouette.

Premise/plot: Dotty [a dachshund] loves, loves, loves to dance. However, her owner doesn't see a brilliant ballerina-dog in the making, she sees a dog in need of obedience training. The obedience school doesn't see a brilliant dancer either, just a disobedient dog who seems incapable of sitting, staying, or following basic commands. Will Dotty's dancing ever be praised and appreciated?

My thoughts: I absolutely love, love, love, love, love, crazy love the title of this one. The word play of ballerina and ballewiena was great fun. The narrative itself was enjoyable. I liked it well enough. I didn't love it, but I liked it. This dog loves to dance. And it's fun to imagine a dog dancing, but, the text gets a bit repetitive after a while. Almost becoming more of a lesson in all the dance terminology than a story-story. That being said, I am thankful there was a pronunciation guide provided on the end papers. 

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers