Magic Ballerina 07-12

Darcey Bussell's Magic Ballerina 07-12 brings six books together for 5 year olds, all about Rosa and a pair of red ballet shoes that just happen to be magic.

What happens

Rosa is the second girl to wear them. They used to be Delphie's, and long before that they belonged to her ballet teacher, Madame Za-Za. Delphie's only advice when she handed them over? Watch out for King Rat.

The first story starts on Rosa's first day back at ballet. She's promised to show her new friend Olivia round, then loses track of time and snaps at her. Oops.

That's Rosa all over. She's brave and very kind, but her temper flares up fast and she charges in before she's thought it through (her mum is always telling her so).

Her mum was a ballerina until a car accident, and now helps her practise from a wheelchair.

After class the shoes start to sparkle and whisk Rosa off to Enchantia, the land where all the characters from the ballets live. King Rat has put a spell on a princess so she's a swan by day, just like in Swan Lake. Rosa's rescue plan is super bold and not very careful, and his mouse guards lock her up. Who hasn't rushed into something and wished they'd stopped to think?

The other five books each have their own adventure. In Rosa and the Golden Bird, a Wicked Fairy has shut the Firebird in a cage, so not one bird in Enchantia can sing.

Rosa and the Magic Moonstone opens with a ballet exam Rosa isn't the least bit nervous about, and a land where every ballet has got muddled up.

Rosa and the Special Prize takes her to a stormy seashore, where King Neptune's golden sceptre has gone missing and he blames his cousin.

Rosa and the Magic Dream begins on audition day at White Lodge, the junior part of the Royal Ballet School. Then a fairy who seems a little too sweet asks Rosa to take her shoes off.

And Rosa and the Three Wishes brings a prickly new girl called Holly into Rosa's ballet class.

There's a bit of peril along the way. King Rat's mouse guards carry swords, and in the second story the Wicked Fairy turns Rosa's friend Nutmeg to stone. Nothing is dwelt on, and dancing is very often what saves the day.

Every story ends with a ballet step from Darcey to try at home. If your reader's temper goes off like a firework and they feel awful straight after, they'll probably recognise Rosa.

What to read next

If they want to meet the very first girl to wear the shoes, try the first Magic Ballerina collection. Delphie has never had a single lesson until Madame Za-Za catches her copying a class through a window one snowy evening.