My daughter and I both recently started taking dance classes. So our lives are full of dancing and dance related activities. She loves dancing and spinning, so naturally we are always excited to read kids books about ballet and dancing. Today I decided to share some of the ballerina books for kids that we have been reading, and pair them with beautiful ballerina crafts.

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Little Fingers Ballet

Written by Ashley Marie Mireles and illustrated by Olga Skomorokhova

This fun interactive book has two holes in the book and two sets of tiny tights, allowing your fingers to become the ballerina’s legs in the illustrations. The little sets of tights fit on the pointer and middle finger, allowing you to put the two covered fingers through the holes in the pages. The holes match up with the dancers in the story, so you can kick and move your fingers to show their movements. The text is simple, but it uses lots of ballet terms, and references to famous ballets. This is a fun interactive book for the beginner ballerina.

These musical board books explore ballet and classical music as well!

Angelina Ballerina

Written by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig

This popular story follows a small mouse named Angelina who loves to dance. She dances all day long, and she dreams of being a real ballerina someday. When her dancing around the house starts to cause trouble, her parents decide to enroll her in real dance classes. Once she has a real outlet for all of her dancing energy, she eventually finds herself on the path to becoming a true ballerina. The adorable illustrations show the sweet mouse character dancing morning until night, as many young kids tend to do, making it relatable to young dancers and the parents trying to corral them.

The Little Dancers Showtime!

Written by Maryann Macdonald and illustrated by Mandy Sutcliffe

This sweet story follows the young students in Miss Amy’s ballet studio as they prepare for their big performance. Rosa is the youngest dancer and she is disappointed when she doesn’t get the role she wants. But by working together, Rosa and her friends each help one another to master their routines and put on an awesome show. This story of friendship and perseverance features lots of ballet terms, as well as adorable illustrations of the diverse group of friends helping one another to shine.

Related Post: Introducing Babies to the Classics with Musical Board Books

Ballerina Activities for Kids

Ballerina Q-Tip Painting

This free printable sheet encourages kids to work on fine motor skills, as well as pre-writing skills. Give kids a q-tip and pour some paint onto a plate. We used pink to further the ballet shoe theme. Have kids dip their q-tip (ballet shoes) into the paint and tip-toe across the stage by dabbing their q-tip into the dots in front of the ballerinas. Encourage them to start from the ballerina on the left and move their way across the line, reinforcing the concept of reading and writing from left to right. You could also make these sheets reusable by encouraging kids to place small beads into each circle or placing them into a sheet protector and using wipe off markers on it.

Ballerina Puppets

These little ballerina puppets use a few items that you may already have around the house. First, let kids draw a face onto a tongue depressor. Then cut a hole in a cupcake liner and slide the tongue depressor through it. Finally, wrap a pipe cleaner above the cupcake liner and below the face, and twist them up to be the arms.

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Ballerina Handprint Tutu

This art project uses your child’s handprints to create a ballerina tutu for her dolls. First, paint your child’s hand with pink paint and have her make handprints on a piece of paper. Cut out the handprints and set them aside. When the handprints dry, poke holes into the bottom of each handprint and thread a piece of pink ribbon through them. Tie the ribbon around the waist of your child’s doll to create a tutu. You could also use a lot more ribbons and handprints to create a matching tutu for your child as well!

What are your favorite books about ballerinas? Do you have any ballerina crafts that you have made? Share them in the comments below!

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