Bunheads is written lovingly by Misty Copeland and illustrated gracefully by Setor Fiadzgbey. It is a beautifully swirling narrative about Misty Copeland’s early days as a student of the ballet. Her dedication in this book reads, “To all of my little Bunheads, dance your dance and live your dreams.”
The book begins with the very first day of Misty’s ballet lessons. The teacher announces that the class will learn to perform and stage Coppélia. Most of the young dancers do not know of this ballet so the teacher gathers them around and she tells them the fairytale. At this point, the book is a story within a story as the young dancers learn all about a toymaker who, to combat his own loneliness, builds a doll for companionship and gives her the name of Coppélia. A boy named Franz who sees the doll and thinks she is real falls in love with her but he has already proposed to Swanilda!
The story of the toymaker is told in an interesting graphic novel style which separates the story of the ballet itself from the story of young Misty and her classmates. The teacher then gets busy teaching the classmates all the moods, attitudes and movements that make up the ballet. Some of these movements are displayed within the pages of this book and others can be found in the joyous end papers.
The teacher is surprised at the fine abilities that young Misty displays! Misty’s friend Cat wants to play Coppélia and Misty is eager to dance the role of Swanilda while Wolfie wants to play the role of Franz. And they do! The audience members all applaud the final graceful outcome.
Bunheads written by Misty Copland and illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey will speak to readers 5-8 years of age (G.P.Putnam and Sons/ an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2020).
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Activity Questions for Bunheads
Play a visual game called ballet statues by going to the end papers and studying the many drawings of ballerinas in various positions. Work only with those pictures where the ballerinas have their feet on the ground rather than on point. Select three drawings and study the angle of the head, the position of the arms and the placement of the feet for each. Work in front of a mirror to see your version of the statues.
As a corollary to this visual game older readers can look up the famous statue by Degas on the internet entitled Little Dancer. It is a very popular work of art. Study her body stance with one leg and foot out in front of the other, her arms clasped behind her, her head raised high in the air with a ponytail clasp in the back and an expression of self-satisfaction on her face. Now draw a picture of her.
Coppélia was first danced in 1870. There are numbers of dances from this ballet done by current companies to be found on the internet. Parents or grandparents can help you find them.
The ballet was based on two stories written by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Coppélia is often called the comic ballet. Why?