A joyous book about a gender creative boy who loves to dance and wear a tutu. Although he senses that some people are not comfortable with his choice of outfit, his parents and teacher fully support him.
As the story opens, we see that Téo is a little nervous on his first day of ballet class. He enjoys dancing to cumbia and bhangra music at home (reflective of his dad and mom’s Columbian and Indian heritage, respectively), but ballet is different. His parents support him, however, and remind him of how excited he was to see Swan Lake. Wearing a pink tutu, he sits down with the rest of the children, two other boys and two girls. One boy in the class asks, “Why are you wearing that?” to which he responds, “Because it’s pretty.” The teacher comments that she wishes she had one like that.
Téo practices with the other students and learns that he must first master the simple steps before trying more difficult leaps. Week after week he learns more. It’s hard, but he keeps trying, and his happiness in doing so is clear.
One day, the teacher announces that the costumes for the recital have arrived. She lets each child pick their own costume. Téo wants to choose a leotard with a flowery tutu, but “felt everyone’s eyes on him” as he chose it. He picks up a shirt and pants, too, and puts both costumes into his bag. When he tries on the shirt and pants at home, they don’t feel right—too plain and stiff. The leotard and tutu, however, are stretchy and cloud-like. He wonders, though, if the audience will love him in it.
His parents support his choice and encourage him to be brave. He reflects on how good he feels when he dances. At the theater, the teacher tells him he looks perfect. The performance goes splendidly, and everyone cheers.
In some picture books about gender creative boys, the questioning of the protagonist’s clothing or hobbies is harsher or even leads to bullying. Not so here, although Téo is clearly aware that he is doing something out of the ordinary. What shines through in both the text and the softly adorable illustrations are his parents’ and teacher’s support and his love of dance.
