Sy lvia Town w o send Became H Ballerina e the l i Bookmob
Story told by
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Lea Lyon and A. LaFaye Foreword by Sylvia Townsend Illustrated by Jessica Gibson
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Born with the beat in my feet, I jive to Daddy’s jazz and sway to Mama’s symphonies. As musical notes start to float, I rise to my toes, ready to fly.
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When our secondhand TV fills with beautiful dancers, all feathered and fine, I say, “I want to do that too!” “Sylvia,” Mama says, “they’re dancing the ballet Swan Lake.” “Ballet? Oh, I need to learn ballet!” Sylvia says. “Can I take lessons?”
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“I want to leap
and
twirl
and do pliés till I can dance in real ballets.”
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But Daddy says, “Sorry, baby, lessons don’t come free.”
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So I twist Mama’s scarves into a tutu and make my own ballet slippers. Dressed and ready, I try and try, but my feet won’t budge.
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There must be another way to learn how to soar.
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