["The First Book of the Ballet"] is for girls and their parents who are fortunate enough to live not too far from a good teacher. It is the story of a ten-year-old girl who goes to the theatre, sees a ballet for the first time, and, like many other children under the same circumstances, thinks that she wants to become a ballerina. Only, she is in dead earnest, and we follow her through her first interview with the teacher, the beginning of her training, the development of her technique. The difficulties inherent to an artistic career, ballet especially, are not minimized by the author, who knows what she is talking about….

[We] are surprised to find no mention of Isadora Duncan…. Except for this one omission we find this first book on the ballet absorbing and distinguished in its simplicity. A must for all young devotees of the...