10 Ballet Dancers is a counting book but not done in the traditional sense. I loved the ending and wasn't expecting it at all. Ballet books for children are some of my favorites as my 5 year old loves to dance. I love the diversity of the dancers with all of the different body types. You can't go wrong with how informative it is with the breakdown of the ballet terms and how to pronounce them. Overall a fantastic children's book.

Beautifully illustrated, I love the refections in the floor. I also like the way all the children, boys and girls, are different shapes and sizes. A good introduction to the different ballet poses. There is a glossary of the french terms at end with helpful pronunciation. The book starts with ten dancers and counts down to none. A nice idea but the narrative doesn’t flow. If the count down prose was dropped and characters had just ‘exited stage left’ this would freed up the narrative possibilities. Any small child how loves ballet would love this book.

Review to come to Blog/Goodreads on October 2nd.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just love books about ballet. See the dances, the outfits, the chemistry between dancers, and more. I so wish I could do ballet.

This book is a counting book. We start with 10 dancers and end with... something I definitely didn't expect! I love that surprise at the end, not only with how we got to one, but also what happens afterwards. Well done author!

Each page a dancer dances away. I just love how cute that was done and how kids will learn counting in a delightful way. Not only will they learn the numbers but they will also learn some new ballet moves and see them happening.

I definitely LOVE the diversity in the ballet dancers. Quite often the dancers are girls and generally they all look a bit the same, but in this book we got people from all sizes and various colours. It made me smile.

In the end we also have a glossary with the terms along with some images for a couple of them. I loved that this one was added!

The art wasn't always my favourite (due to the faces), but I still liked it.

All in all, a fun counting book featuring ballet. Recommended.

My daughter has been dancing ballet since she was 3-years old. This season, she decided she wants to take a break to focus on gymnastics, but I see in her heart that she still has a love for it. Nothing better than a ballet book to end the night on. I'm also trying to teach my son how to recognize numbers, so I thought this book could reach both kids for different reasons!

This story is told in a countdown fashion. There are 10 kids in a ballet class, but one by one, they leave the class with different ballet moves, leaving only the teacher behind for a nice surprise. There is a page in the back of the book that provides the pronunciation for each ballet move mentioned in the book.

My 5-year old daughter's review: If there are ballerina's dancing in a story, there is a good chance she will love it. She corrected my pronunciation on many of the ballet terms, and proceeded to stand up after every dancer left the room to show me what the move was. I asked her how she felt about the book, and she said "it was good! Can I dance now?" Motivation to dance? Where was this book when I needed her to practice for her last recital!

My 2-year old son's review: While my son loves dancing, he didn't seem as excited by the pictures of people dancing, as much as my daughter did. He enjoyed shouting out numbers, but he quickly realized he was in over his head and didn't know a lot of the numbers. He just started shouting "two!" not realizing he would have to wait until the end of the book to get to his magic number. Oh well. Can't win over every kid.

Mom Review: As I read to my kids, I noticed that the writing felt a bit clunky. There was a line that didn't rhyme with anything, to be followed by 2 lines that did rhyme. It threw the rhythm of the story off, as you expected each line to flow a bit better. The last line of the book was there, and it felt like there should be one more to rhyme. It ended a bit abruptly. My daughter kept staring at me as though I was reading it wrong. I can't be trusted since I couldn't pronounce the dance moves after all.

The illustrations though were beautiful and captured the dancers with each move. She soaked those pictures in, and those helped remind her of what dance move she could do. Or try to do before crashing into her brother, or a dog, or just fall on the floor giggling.

I would give this book 3 out of 5 book stacks, but my daughter wanted to give more. We agreed to give 4 out 5!

This colorful and engaging read is perfect for fans of ballet and dance. The countdown with different ballet terms was quick and informative.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
The illustrations and the overall story were really nice. I liked that it included a glossary of terms in the back of the book, because a lot of these terms would be challenging to the audience of children that a counting book is targeted for.

While I love the premise for this ballet-inspired title, I just can't get past a couple of issues that marred my enjoyment of what is an otherwise unique counting book.

We start with ten dancers, who are performing various ballet moves. After each page, another dancer leaves, and the numbers count down until we're left with a surprise at the very end. All of that is good and fine, and the illustrations complement the text well.

I have two problems with this book, though. The first is the way it's written. Each page starts with a number and describes what the dancers are doing. For example:

"Five ballet dancers waltz to the beat.
1, 2, 3...2, 2, 3... across the floor.

One glissades away and now there are

Four ballet dancers soar during leaps."

My brain just isn't meshing with the grammar here, as far as the verb forms. Gerunds should have been used in those numbered lines to make the text flow better (e.g., Five ballet dancers waltzing to the beat, Four ballet dancers soaring during leaps, etc.).

The second issue I have is with the glossary at the back. The problem? It's not really a glossary! It's a French-English dictionary. For example, we're told that "pas de chat" and "battement" mean "step of the cat" and "beating", respectively. Unfortunately, we're not given any more information about those particular dance moves. The illustrations, being static, can't really convey the movement, either. (And the "glossary" isn't even in alphabetical order, which seems odd. I guess the terms are in the order they appear in the book, but since the words don't really explain much, it makes the glossary even more confusing.)

Overall, this book might appeal to young dancers. But the choice of verb form is clunky and distracts from the flow of the narrative, and the glossary could be a little clearer.

This is a wonderful picture book for young boys and girls, which has beautiful illustrations of ballet dancers and their teacher. The book helps children to learn the numbers 1-10 and it teaches them how to count. I read this book with my daughter who loves ballet and I used to do ballet when I was young, so we really loved this book. I especially loved how the book taught the french words and meanings of each ballet movement. This is a book that I will read again with my daughter and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exhange for an honest review.

10 ballet dancers is a ballet themed version of 10 little monkeys. The story was cute, and the illustrations were beautiful. I loved the twist at the end! It was unexpected and made the story exciting. This is a book that will be adored by all little ballerinas.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for granting me access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

10 Ballet Dancers is a beautifully illustrated ballet class version of "10 little monkeys." The watercolour illustrations are stunning, and as a former ballet dancer, I appreciate the variety of ballet terms used in this book. It works both as a basic children's counting book that makes the task fun, and also as an introduction to ballet terminology.

I wish it rhymed, though. "10 little monkeys" variants normally do, and the theme, in this case, is ballet, which is all about musicality, rhyme, and grace. The fact that none of the lines rhyme felt quite jarring.

Overall I did enjoy this book and I would recommend it, particularly to dance and music families.

I grew up doing ballet so I really enjoyed the premise of this book. The grammar though is not great in the transitions from one number to another. When a new number is presented, the verb should end in 'ing' to read correctly and it does not. Those who do not speak french or do not know ballet terms will struggle pronouncing different words in this book. There is a glossary in the back with a pronunciation guide and definitions of the terms.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I really liked the art-style chosen for this picturebook! It's cute, and helps with learning ballet terms. I think it's very hard to create a picturebook that wants to both have somewhat of a story, teach numbers/counting and ballet terms, while also making it seem somewhat natural. I don't think this one managed that either, and the final spread seemed very random and forced. I almost believe it would be better for them all to do a real performance at the end instead.

A beautifully illustrated book of ballet and numbers. My daughter will live this book that takes you through a ballet class counting from 10 to none, while learning many different ballet terms. There is even a glossary at the end. This is perfect for any younger child who has a passion for ballet.

What a cure book. Love the drawings. It would be fabulous for a budding ballerina. It really helped that there was a glossary of the terms at the end for us non ballerina types.

**I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Illustrations were colorful and beautiful, they reminded me of watercolors. I would have liked to have seen a little more of the dancing, maybe 2-3 images extra as each dancer left the group would have allowed the readers to see a more complete vision of what each ballet step meant.

Some of the rhyming didn't quite work, and felt a little forced, but it wasn't unbearable. The glossary with translations of the moves at the back was a nice touch for anyone who doesn't know what the dance steps are.

Overall, a great counting book, especially for little dancers.

10 Ballet Dancers by Amanda Malik-Ahmadi counts down to ten using ballet terms. I loved this children’s book for so many reasons. First, there’s the gentle rhyme scheme that will keep children interested and is easy for young readers to read. Second, the glossary in the back that has all the dance terms that they have used, books where kids can learn something new is always something I look for when looking for books for students! Then, finally, and what I like best, is the diversity of characters in the story. The illustrations depict people of all colors and genders, showing ballet as a sport for all, which some people do not see. I would absolutely buy this.

10 Ballet Dancers, by Amanda Malek-Ahmadi and Kathrine Gutkovskiy, is a lovely counting book for young ones who love to dance. The ballet terms are woven smoothly into the text, with a glossary at the end to teach pronunciation, meaning, and what each move looks like. Though the rhyming scheme is just a little forced here and there, the illustrations are both pretty and dynamic, with a warm, inviting color palette, and the genuine diversity among the dancers on the page (in skin tone, body shape/size, and gender presentation) is marvelous. A charming addition to any young ballet lover’s bookshelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and IBPA for the advance review copy.