Firebird by Misty Copeland

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Firebird was written by Misty Copeland and illustrated by Christopher Myers. This book has 34 pages and published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers in September 4th 2014. It won Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustrator (2015), and Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Nominee for Writer (2015).[1]

Misty Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, The United States in September 10, 1982. Her touching's quote was:

“This is for the little brown girls.” ― Misty Copeland [2]

Summary

This book tells about the story of a young girl, it could be every girl in the world, whose confidence is fragile and who is questioning her own ability to reach the heights that Misty has reached. Misty encourages this young girl's faith in herself and shows her exactly how, through hard work and dedication, she too can become Firebird. Lyrical and affecting text paired with bold, striking illustrations that are some of Caldecott Honoree Christopher Myers's best work, makes Firebird perfect for aspiring ballerinas everywhere.[3]

Pros

In goodreads.coma reader named Caroline Pilman-DeKruif, dropped her opinion about this story. She described that with vivid illustrations and precise, thoughtful words, Misty Copeland and Christopher Myers tell the story of a young ballerina. Those who love ballet will appreciate the depiction of Misty Copeland, an American Ballet Theater soloist, as she guides and teaches the young ballerina, encouraging her to reach for her dreams of becoming an accomplished ballerina. In a letter to her readers at the end of the book, Copeland describes her struggle to find ballet books about African American ballerinas she could relate to, and praises those who guided her to where she is now. She explains that this book is her way of reaching out to those who will come after her.

Firebird received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, and is a 2015 Ezra Jack Keats Author Honor recipient. Kindergarten through 3rd-grade readers will be able to appreciate the illustrations and story. Background knowledge in ballet or Misty Copeland’s story may help enrich readers’ understanding of the story. [1]

Myers’s stunning collages layer strips of thickly painted paper to echo the wings of a firebird (Copeland’s signature role), whether they are illustrating the stage curtains or a cloudy sky. It is seen that rich colors make even the portraits of the dancers at rest dramatic, and when the dancers are on stage, they seem to fly. The words of the girl appear in italics and the dancer’s words in boldface is to clearly differentiate between the speakers. In an author’s note, Copeland tells readers that, as a child, she never saw herself in ballet books; this book encourages today’s aspiring dancers of all colors and backgrounds, explained Kathleen T. Horning as one of the book reviewers.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20821347-firebird Firebird]. goodreads.com. Retrieved January 24th, 2021
  2. Misty Copeland. goodreads.com. Retrieved January 24th, 2021
  3. Firebird. amazon.com. Retrieved January 24th, 2021
  4. Review of Firebird. hbook.com. Retrieved January 24th, 2021