Stephen ManesCritiques

Another silly book from childhood...

Just as silly as I'd remembered! I do wish there weren't so many negative words in it, though, as I'd like my kids to read it. (Dumb, stupid, etc.)

One nostalgic scene has Milo drinking from the fountain at school and the kids behind him calling, "Save some for the fishes!" I remember thinking that was such a clever line and repeating it every chance I got for years in school.

Manes spent a year with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. He shares their stories and fills the reader in on what makes a ballet company run. He speaks to everyone - the director, the dancers, the choreographers, the musicians, the music librarian, wardrobe, lighting, sets, everyone in the business office and the school of ballet, the ushers, the students, the truck drivers and many, many more.
I own this book on my Kindle so I had no idea it was 912 pages before I started reading. Luckily this book was fairly interesting or I would have given up on it, esp when I reached the second chapter that featured the orchestra musicians correcting the music score sheets. This book could have used a good editor but I would recommend it to people interested in the world of ballet.

This is a fun story to read. Really silly things happen to the main character, Milo. If you are looking for an entertaining story, please give this book a try. -ER

I remember being all excited to read this book in third grade, but it turned out to be more of a cautionary tale than a manual.

Max's little brother, Adam, gets an ant farm for his birthday and becomes an ant expert in his excitement. However, when Max tells him people eat ants after seeing a can of chocolate covered ants at a friend's house, Adam refuses to believe him. The brothers make a wager, which turns out to be a lot more difficult than Max realized. The plot is believable and mildly humorous, although somewhat unremarkable. Given the age and mediocrity of the work, this is an unnessisary addition to collections.

The Ballet book no insiders could have written...rich in human drama & rare insights

If you're thinking about being daunted by the length of this book -- don't be. It is rich with human drama, starring a cast of a hundred interesting people we get to follow through their various rôles in a season of a leading ballet company. Manes makes sure you get to see their individual personalities through vivid portraits he delivers by using their own words. The unfolding dramatic events and stories about people we care about make the book a page-turner.

Bypassing the apparent protocol of insider ballet writers, it's not just another retelling of ballet history through "heroic figures". It reveals the many previously unexamined or intentionally-ignored departments & people in a company, from costumes and sets to lighting and the orchestra, to marketers and ushers, all of whom are vital to the ballet experience.

I think every young dancer should read "Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear". Like baseball, ballet dancing has a remarkably competitive career path that winnows candidates. For every dancer who seems excellent at her or his own level, only a fraction make it at the next level up. As the book reveals, the commitment required to persist is enormous, the economic rewards pretty limited, the chance for personal satisfaction immense, the opportunities for ballet careers beyond dancing diverse and interesting. A young dancer will become both more realistic and more emotionally durable by reading the book.

I didn't know a ton about ballet before I started reading Manes' book. I now believe I have the kind of knowledge one gets from a really good "plant tour". I feel like I really know a lot of the individuals I met through this insightful and fun book. I will be following their careers and attending ballets more than ever, even having been presented with the complex, sometimes sad realities of the art.

A remarkably valuable guide book to the REAL Land of Ballet, unromanticized but Romantic nevertheless, the way no insider could ever have had either the guts or perspective to deliver.

Wasn't the great for my age group. Kind of easy; doesn't work for a certain age group.

good book!!!!½

Milo Crinkley is an average kid. The sort who doesn't make straight A's, who isn't a star player on the local baseball team, and who also has a big sister who is constantly 'on his case'. He doesn't really give much consideration to all these things until a book tumbles off a shelf at the library and whacks him on the head. Written by the rather odd looking Dr. K. Pinkerton Silverfish, the book promises to make him perfect in just three days! Three days! he thinks, I can do that, and then my life will be absolutely great. Milo figures, for example, that he won't have to go to school, because he will know it all. He also won't have to put up with his teasing big sister, because she won't be able to find anything to fault.

Thus, with stars in his eyes, Milo takes the book home only to find that the road to perfection is paved with some darn strange activities. I won't give away too much here, but will say that the good Doctor's first requirement is to wear a stalk of broccoli around your neck for 24 hours.

This is a great book that's speaks to kids over a broad spectrum of ages. (I read it to my 6 yo son and it would be fine for middle schoolers as well.) The anti-perfection message is perfect for our times as more and more children, particularly girls entering middle school, seem to pick up this crazy idea (mostly from the media) that they can do-it-all and have-it-all.

Considerations :::
"Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days" is a Good Read-a-Loud that gets it's message across with humor. It doesn't hit your over the head but subtly delivers the idea that being yourself is good-enough. It's a book I would suggest that most kids read or hear at least twice in their lives.

The Accelerated Reading Level is 4.2. There are some drawings, and it's a fast paced read.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer for BooksForKids-reviews

Lexile: 720
Reading Recovery: 24
DRA: 38
Fountas Pinnel Guided Reading: Q