Magic Ballerina 01-06

Darcey Bussell's Magic Ballerina 01-06 brings the first six Magic Ballerina books together for 5 year olds, all about a girl whose red ballet shoes whisk her off to a magical land.

What happens

Delphie is nine and completely ballet-mad. She's never had a single lesson (money is tight at home), so she learns from library books and dances everywhere. Yes, even on the street!

One snowy evening she's caught copying a class through the window of the ballet school that's just opened on her road. Instead of a telling-off, Madame Za-Za invites her in. She offers free lessons and lends her an old pair of red leather ballet shoes. Special shoes, she says.

That night the shoes start to glitter. Delphie puts them on, spins round and round, and lands in an empty theatre. This is Enchantia, where the characters from all the ballets live. The Sugar Plum Fairy is crying on the stage. King Rat has stopped everyone dancing, and the Nutcracker is his prisoner.

What's lovely is how Delphie helps. It isn't with fighting. She uses what she knows about the ballet, and Madame Za-Za's advice about telling a story turns out to be far more useful than she expected.

There's a little bit of peril. King Rat's castle is guarded by mice as tall as Delphie, with swords in their belts. But two of them end up tumbling into a stream after a trail of sugarplums, so it's more giggles than frights.

The second story sends her back to a palace stuck in a winter that won't end. There's a princess in trouble and a toad called Priscilla croaking outside the window (she's VERY grumpy). In between the stories there's a short section that walks through the five ballet positions, so your reader can try them in the living room.

If you've got a little dancer who twirls round the kitchen, this could feel like it was written just for them. Delphie's longing for lessons is very real. Who wouldn't want a pair of shoes that takes you somewhere magic?

What to read next

If they're not ready to leave Delphie yet, Christmas in Enchantia has her getting ready for a Nutcracker show on Christmas Eve, with her red shoes packed in her ballet bag.