Ballet For Martha: Making Appalachian Spring (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I honestly found this book to be a little boring. It had a hard time capturing my attention, and I think it would be hard to capture a child's. I had some of my friend's read it, and they didn't finish it (they're 20 years old). The illustrations are wonderful and the way the words dance around the page is great. I do think someone who loved dance would enjoy this book, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. I thought that this was a heartwarming story of Martha fulfilling her dream to create the ballet of Appalachian Spring. The illustrations weren't very detailed, which I think the illustrator may have done this for a creative affect. They somewhat looked like the dancers were moving because their faces weren't clear. I chose this book to read because I grew up taking ballet classes as a little girl. I thought that this book would be mainly about the ballet and the dancers. However, this book was mainly about Martha's preparation for her ballet. It was an interesting perspective to see what goes on to write and create a ballet besides just the dances. It was interesting to see how she contacted her friend to make the sets for her ballet, whose sets would later be famous. I probably would not read this book to the whole class because I don’t know if it would appeal to all of my students, especially the boys. However, it would be a good book to have on the shelf. This is because it tells students of Martha, a famous ballet writer, when they probably wouldn’t have ever heard of her if it hadn’t have been for the book. This book also encourages students to pursue their dreams because like Martha, they can achieve them if they put in the effort.
What do You think about Ballet For Martha: Making Appalachian Spring (2010)?
This is a great book! I really enjoyed reading this!
—Alaine
