Ballewiena

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-137-3

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

June 2022

Let's get some joy in our lives. Dance, dogs, and fulfillment will do just the trick with Rebecca Bender's Ballewiena.

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

Dotty dreamed of being a ballet dancer. She knew how to plié, assemblé and pirouette. She could chassé, glissé and do a pas de chat (even though she was a dog). But Ms. Austere did not appreciate Dotty's moves and, while she trained Dotty's poodle sibs Jazzebelle and Miffy for the upcoming Golden Bow Talent Show, she took the dachshund to the Canine School of Obedience. 

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

But obedience school was not for Dotty who "tried, she really did, but something inside her made her spring up into an elegant entrechat." Despondent, Dotty runs into the park after class and meets Louis-Pierre, a squirrel and an acrobat. Louis-Pierre invites Dotty, whom he calls Pitou, to work out with him and teaches her, by some unusual pedagogical means, the value of practice in gaining skills.  

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

Still, when the Golden Bow Talent Show comes around, Dotty is expected only to watch from the audience. But, Louis-Pierre has other ideas and liberates Dotty to show off her skills and reveal her true ballerina self.

Young readers will know Rebecca Bender's storytelling from her award-winning Giraffe and Bird series (e.g., Giraffe Meets Bird; Giraffe and Bird Together Again; Don't Laugh at Giraffe) but she does as well by dogs as she does with giraffes, birds, hedgehogs and ducklings (e.g., How Do You Feel?) and more. She makes us care about her characters who are all expressive and one-of-a-kind, whether they are pets or wild. That's because her stories are those lived by children. Dotty may be a dog but she could be any child who feels her dream is being stifled and who wants to express herself through dance. I suspect that Rebecca Bender is a herself ballet parent, one who has learned much from attending classes with little ones. In fact, I myself learned much about ballet through the text of Ballewiena but also in her incredible endpapers that depict a variety of ballet movements and their phonetic pronunciations. Yes, Ballewiena is about ballet, and would make a great gift for any child who enjoys dance classes, but it has important messages about following your aspirations and being true to yourself while ensuring that you put the work in so it becomes a goal and not a pipe-dream.  

Rebecca Bender's illustrations, created with gouache, watercolour, pen and ink, as well as digital media, carry those messages through worlds of colour, shape and attitude. Her assortment of canine and other characters conveys a depth of personality beyond the dance. (I was especially taken with Louis-Pierre who, with his sweatband and drawstring workout pants, has a je ne sais quoi quality that is adorable, even as he coaches Dotty through rigorous training.)

Whether you're a dancer, an appreciative fan or neither, Ballewiena reminds us to follow our passions and dance fully in our lives.

Lumpito and the Painter from Spain

Written by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-00-2

32 pp.

Ages 5+

Release date October 15, 2012

Reviewed from unbound copy

Lump, German for rascal, is a darling dachshund who lives with David, a photographer, in Rome.  Unfortunately, there's also Big Dog who makes life less than pleasant for Lump.  But, when David has to travel to the south of France to visit the artist Pablo Picasso, Lump is fortunate to find himself David's only companion.

At the villa, a big dog, Yan, wants to be friends with Lump, and even the goat, Esmerelda, is welcoming.  But, Lump is especially drawn to the man with the strong, dark, warm eyes who affectionately calls him Lumpito.  And Picasso, drawn to the little dog, treats him to belly rubs, shares treats from the dinner table, designs a special plate just for him, and proffers late night contemplations.  Not surprising that, when Picasso hears that Lumpito is not happy at David's, the artist is delighted to make a home for Lumpito with his family. 

Lumpito and the Painter from Spain is based on the true story of Picasso and the little dachshund who stole his heart, captured in the above photo by David Douglas Duncan, Lumpito's original care-giver.  Just as Lumpito inspired Picasso (see the copy of Picasso's Le Chien below), Monica Kulling's text and Dean Griffith's illustrations inspire anyone in a difficult situation that there is hope for joy and devotion.  Lumpito's eyes tell it all: they're bright, hopeful and kind. It's not surprising that Picasso found such an inspirational model in this little fellow, and it's so fortunate that Monica Kulling found this inspiring story and told it so simply and beautifully.

Read a little more about Picasso and Lumpito in the April edition of AnOther Magazine's Arts & Culture section here.