Brief Overview: This beautifully illustrated graphic novel depicts the story of a young girl who aspires to live the life of a dancer. Her mother supports her and moves her to some of the best dance schools to fulfill her dreams. She continues to study at the School of American Ballet where she learns from some of the best dancers and grows as a dancer herself, but also faces some obstacles with her home life as her parents are constantly fighting. This graphic novel contains fantastic illustrations and the story of a young girl trying to reach her goals and dreams.
Teaching Strategies:
Key Vocabulary:
School of American Ballet
Divorce
Determination
Choreography
(dance terms such as barre and plie)
Before Reading: Start off a discussion by asking students to come up with a list of things they enjoy doing. For example dance, baseball, basketball, football, drawing, etc. Then introduce the novel as a dream of a young girl who wants to be a dancer. This will provide students with a connection of their dreams and the text.
During Reading: As students are reading, students should be paying attention to how a graphic novel is written and be getting ideas of constructing their own. As students read, they will be able to connect with the happiness of succeeding and moving forward and also the sadness of life struggles, such as parents getting divorced.
After Reading: Students should create their own comics that will illustrate a dream or goal they have. The comics should include both illustrations and captions. Their comics should also show any obstacles or struggles they may face in order to get to their goals.
Extra Resources:
Interview with Siena Cherson Siegel
To Dance Book Reviews
Siegel, Siena Cherson. To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel. New York: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2006. Print.
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