Ballet Besties: Indu's Time to Shine

Whether they're devoted dancers or in it just for fun, kids of all kinds are invited to the Shimmer and Shine studio! In this second book in a series, Indu overcomes some stage fright with the help of her ballet besties.

Indu loves learning ballet at her local community dance school, but unlike her friends, she doesn't want to be a principal dancer when she grows up. While she's a bit afraid of being on stage, dancing is still one of her favorite hobbies. When the class has the chance to see the ballet Cinderella put on professionally, Indu realizes the other way she's different--her mom can't afford the ticket. Indu figures out a way to go, but it makes her think: Aren't there other kids out there who want to learn ballet and can't? Shouldn't ballet be for everyone? From a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet and an award-winning children's author comes an engaging story of friendship, responsibility, and teamwork, with back matter explaining the various dance techniques and more. Black-and-white illustrations bring a diverse group of characters to life.

Author: Yasmine Naghdi
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 09/09/2025
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.30w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781536243802
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 10/01/2025 pg. 52

About the Author
Yasmine Naghdi is a principal of the Royal Ballet and has been dancing with the company since 2010. Her many roles include Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), and the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker). She has performed all over the world and is passionate about showing that ballet is for everyone. Yasmine Naghdi lives in London.

Chitra Soundar is the award-winning author of more than forty books for children, including a series of chapter books about Sona Sharma, illustrated by Jen Khatun, as well as A Sliver of Moon and a Shard of Truth: Stories from India, illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy, and It's Time to Hush and Say Good Night, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat. Chitra Soundar loves writing books in a variety of genres and travels the world visiting schools and appearing at festivals to bring Indian stories to children everywhere. She grew up in Chennai, India, and lives in southeast London.

Paula Franco studied illustration and graphic design at Instituto Superior Comunicación Visual in Argentina and now illustrates children's books. She lives in Argentina.