She is a lovely storyteller, both in her books and with her body. She has worked with a variety of charitable organizations and was inducted into the Boys. Misty Copeland has been a principal ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre since 2015. The way her words and his pictures create an animated harmony is exactly how music and movement do the same in the ballerina’s world.įor more on Misty Copeland, take a look at this. The publication of Firebird is especially meaningful for Copeland, as mentoring children is her passion.

This is a pairing of musicality, movement, and a jaw-dropping array of colors and feelings. I adore the anticipation in this spread, the dancer waiting for the curtain to rise, and I imagine a lump in her throat and a belly full of as many swoops as the folds in the curtain.Įach page turn reveals a composition that is even more striking than the last. Misty encourages this young girl's faith in herself and shows her exactly how, through hard work and dedication, she too can become Firebird. Misty Copeland didnt take up ballet until age 13, but by age 17, she was a professional. Misty Copeland’s words are fire and poetry to a timid youngster’s soul. 'I didnt think it was going to happen this soon,' Misty Copeland tells BAZAAR of her recently published memoir, Life In Motion. In her debut picture book, Misty Copeland tells the story of a young girl-an every girl-whose confidence is fragile and who is questioning her own ability to reach the heights that Misty has reached. makes Firebird perfect for aspiring ballerinas everywhere. (image here // Copeland dancing the Firebird)Ĭhristopher Myers’s art captures the lines and shapes of a dancer’s movement. The illustrator, Christopher Myers, is a Caldecott Honoree for Harlem and the son of the legendary Walter Dean Myers. Considered a dance prodigy at a very young age, Misty Copeland became only the second African-American female soloist with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre in New York City. The author, Misty Copeland, is a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. When you open a book to sweeping, fiery endpapers, it’s almost as if you can hear the symphony begin.

By Misty Copeland and Christopher Myers ( Penguin Young Readers Group, 2014)

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