Who is the unlikely dancer

Lovers of ballet will be enthralled by this coming-of-age of a 20th-century superstar. Lily Marks, born in London in , did not walk properly as a child. Her parents took her to a doctor who prescribed leg braces.

Lily became a star pupil, singled out as very talented. She loved the classes and staged shows with her sisters. Private lessons followed. The turning point, however, came when her father took her to a performance by the legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.

And Lily and Anna shared another similarity; both were Jewish. Lily got to meet her heroine after the ballet performance and even danced for her. An afterword explains that her professional name change to Alicia Markova came about because balletomanes loved Russian dancers. This simple and sincere tale of working up courage to face fears makes quite a splash.

Readers see Jabari play the waiting game as the other children a diverse bunch make their ways past him in line. With renewed will, Jabari returns to the towering diving board, ready to embrace the feat. In her debut, Cornwall places her loving black family at the center, coloring the swimming pool and park beyond in minty hues and adding whimsy with digitally collaged newspaper for skyscrapers.

Low-key and gentle; a book to be thankful for. The bestselling author of Life in Motion and a children's book, Firebird , she is the recipient of the Lenore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts. She lives in New York City. My Life with Wagner. Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited. The Hairy Dieters: Fast Food. Guide To Better Acol Bridge. The Hairy Dieters: Good Eating. Engineering in the Ancient World. Carl Rogers: A Critical Biography. The Carl Rogers Reader. Her story is an inspiration to anyone—man or woman, black or white—who has ever chased a dream against the odds, and the grace with which she triumphs is an example for us all.

I am thrilled that my two daughters have a role model in Misty, who is breaking down doors that that they will never have to. Her memoir is filled with passion, pain, success, and…pure joy. She overcame adversity in the studio, in her home life, and in ballet's own traditionalism to become one of its brightest stars — her passion and perseverance will inspire dancers and non-dancers alike.

She is the Jackie Robinson of the ballet world, and a true role model for an entire generation of new ballerinas.