Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina

Lyrical, inspiring, and affecting text paired with bright, appealing illustrations make Ready to Fly perfect for aspiring ballerinas everywhere who are ready to leap and to spread their wings

Ready to Fly is the true story of Sylvia Townsend, an African American girl who falls in love with ballet after seeing Swan Lake on TV. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share at home or in the classroom.

Although there aren't many ballet schools that will accept a girl like Sylvia in the 1950s, her local bookmobile provides another possibility. A librarian helps Sylvia find a book about ballet and the determined seven-year-old, with the help of her new books, starts teaching herself the basics of classical ballet.

Soon Sylvia learns how to fly--how to dance--and how to dare to dream.

Includes a foreword from Sylvia Townsend, a brief history of the bookmobile, an author's note, and a further reading list.

Lea Lyon always wanted to create children's books when she was a little girl. Now, after several other careers, Lyon is living out her dream. Ready to Fly is the first children's book she's written. She has illustrated six award-winning picture books, including Say Something by Peggy Moss and Keep Your Ear on the Ball by Genevieve Petrillo. Her book Lailah's Lunchbox by Reem Faruqi was named an ALA Notable Book. You can visit her at www.lealyon.com.

Jessica Gibson is a mostly self-taught freelance illustrator who graduated from Wayne County Community College with an associate of arts degree. Though she primarily illustrates children's books, Gibson also creates artwork for magazines and has an interest in character design. With a pen and tablet by her side, she loves creating adorable, whimsical, and sometimes quirky illustrations, ready to brighten up everyone's heart. You can visit her at www.jessicamgibson.com.

A. LaFaye is the author of over a dozen books, including the Skipping Stones Honor Book Walking Home to Rosie Lee about the reunification of African American families after the Civil War. Her other picture books include Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town and No Frogs in School. LaFaye, like Sylvia Townsend, always had dreams of flying, but she chose words to feather her wings and became an author. You can catch up with A. LaFaye at www.alafaye.com.