Whether you’re lounging poolside, packing for a weekend getaway, or just dreaming of your next grand jeté, these ballet-inspired reads are perfect for summer. From backstage drama to coming-of-age stories with a pirouette or two, here are some of the latest releases worth adding to your TBR.
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For Young Dancers
This Is Ballet and Other Classical Dances by Rekha S. Rajan
The first in a series covering major dance families, this board book introduces different classical dances and encourages children to get up and dance.
Ellie’s Dancing Shoes by Scott Sollers
Ellie dreams of becoming a ballerina, but her self-doubt is getting in the way. Her grandmother’s magical dancing shoes make her jumps graceful and steps beautiful, but they go missing on the day of her audition. Will she find them in time, or have to perform without them?Â
Letters to Misty: How to Move Through Life with Confidence and Grace by Misty Copeland
ABT Principal Dancer Misty Copeland has looked to many mentors throughout her career who have helped her become the dancer and person she is today. In this advice book for ages 8 and up, Copeland takes up the role of mentor herself, covering everything from body confidence to balancing commitments to breaking out of your comfort zone.Â
For Teens
A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek
Inspired by Swan Lake, this young-adult fantasy novel follows 17-year-old Odile as she attempts to infiltrate the royal palace and discover who murdered the king. But she may have to team up with her childhood-friend-turned-enemy Marie d’Odette to catch a killer and save the kingdom.
For Memoir Devotees
If You Say So by Michelle Herman
This memoir is about loss, grief, and loneliness, but it’s also about Herman’s experience of taking her first ballet class at 62 and the ways that the art form’s practices and community led her on a new path.
Behind the Red Velvet Curtain: An American Ballerina in Russia by Joy Womack as told to Elizabeth Shockman
Womack takes you inside the Bolshoi Ballet as the first American ballerina to sign a contract with the company and explores the lengths an artist will go to for the artform they love.
Becoming Spectacular: The Rhythm of Resilience from the First African American Rockette by Jennifer Jones
When she took her place in the Rockettes’ famous kick line in 1987, Jones broke the color barrier at Radio City. In her memoir, she recounts the fierce resistance to her and the tenacity needed to make her dreams come true.Â
For Non-Fiction Fans
The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen Valby
Get swept away in the glamour and grit of the careers of five of ballet’s trailblazing Black ballerinas: Lydia Abarca, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton, and Marcia Sells.
Errand Into the Maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham by Deborah Jowitt
In this critically acclaimed biography, dance critic Deborah Jowitt draws on firsthand research to draw a portrait of the iconic choreographer.
For Those Eagerly Awaiting the 2025–26 Season
If you are already counting down the days until the 2025–26 season begins, here are a few source texts you can delve into to prepare.Â
