I Dreamed I was a Ballerina
By Pavlova, Anna
Themes flagged by parents·3
Cultural Representation
Russian
This book contains predominantly Russian people and/or Russian culture and/or the main character is Russian.
Protagonist Gender
Female Protagonist
The leading character in this book is female.
Sensitive Content
Death
This book talks about death and/or dying.
Synopsis
Every girl remembers her first trip to the ballet: the anticipation beforehand, the orchestra's first notes, the ethereal beauty of the ballerinas. This is a tale of one such girl who was caught up in ballet's mesmerizing spell and became one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.
In a story drawn from her memoirs, Anna Pavlova describes her first visit to the ballet to see the "Sleeping Beauty." With simple, childlike language, she captures her love for her mother, the splendor of the ballet, and the moments that changed her life. The words are matched with paintings, pastels, and drawings of the French Impressionist Edgar Degas, to give this story all the magic of a fairytale.
Complete with short biographies of Pavlova and Degas, "I Dreamed I Was a Ballerina" will delight any child with ballerina dreams.
Details
- Illustrator
- Edgar Degas
- Publisher
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- ISBN-10
- 9780689846762
- ISBN-13
- 9780689846762
- Reading age
- 6 – 8
- Grade level
- 1 – 3
- Pages
- 32
- Published
- 2001
- Added to shelf
- Feb 15, 2026