Picture book
Firebird
Misty Copeland
A young dancer imagines what practice and encouragement might make possible.
Reading list
A story for the stage
A family reading list about movement, imagination, and finding a place in the arts.
Read Firebird and Amazing Grace aloud. Invite readers to describe a time someone helped them imagine doing something new. Use Black Ballerinas for a follow-up conversation about specific artists and careers.
Continue the story
Recommended reading
Biography
Black Ballerinas
Misty Copeland
Illustrated profiles introduce dancers whose careers expanded possibilities for Black ballet artists.
Picture book
Alvin Ailey
Andrea Davis Pinkney
A picture-book biography introduces Ailey’s childhood and the movement language he brought to the stage.
Picture book
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman
A child determined to play Peter Pan challenges the limits others place on her imagination.