A review by beths0103
Firebird by Misty Copeland

5.0

with those first few lines of Firebird by Misty Copeland, the tears were already streaming down my face. I know I'm a crier by nature so perhaps the fact that I was tearing up by page one doesn't hold much weight, but I generally don't cry at the beginning of a book. That was an unexpected turn of events, I must say.

So what is it that affected me so deeply? It wasn't just the words, but seeing them paired with Christopher Myers' emotional, sweeping illustrations, in addition to seeing the symbolism of the sparse text that truly moved me.

Firebird is the story of a young girl of color who aspires to be a ballerina someday, but sees only the obstacles before her. You get the sense that Copeland is writing this story not only to all the African American girls who dream of being dancers, but also looking back at herself when she first started out. It is a book that is sure to win awards -- most likely a Coretta Scott King. But will the Caldecott committee give it some love as well? I think it certainly deserves it. Especially given how emotionally stirring the artwork is when paired with the text.

Read my entire review on my blog.