Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage is the story of a world-renowned prima ballerina who impressed people all over the world with her beautiful dancing while living with visual impairments. This is a story about perseverance in the face of adversity, and how the arts can afford women the opportunity to achieve a global impact. This historical fiction chapter book includes additional text on Alicia Alonso’s lasting legacy, as well as two movement-based activities designed to encourage creativity and confidence through dance."

I love the Rebel Girls Chapter Book Series. It's always inspiring and informative. I hope kids read these books at school or at home.

"Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage," part of the Rebel Girls series, narrates the inspiring journey of Alicia Alonso, a pioneering Cuban ballerina who defied numerous challenges to become a revered figure in the dance world. This book, adorned with beautiful illustrations, not only showcases Alonso's exceptional talent but also stands as a testament to perseverance, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of one's dreams.

From the outset, readers are immersed in Alonso's world, where her fervor for dance propels her from Havana to the global stage. The narrative vividly portrays her dedication and resolve, highlighting how she surmounted significant obstacles, including vision impairment, to realize her ambitions. The authors adeptly weave personal anecdotes with broader cultural context, offering a comprehensive view of Alonso's life and the historical milieu in which she performed.

The book's illustrations are vibrant and captivating, animating Alonso's story with visual splendor. Each page bursts with rich colors and dynamic dance depictions that mirror Alonso's energy and grace. The artwork harmoniously complements the text, creating an engaging experience for readers.

A notable aspect of "Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage" is its capacity to inspire young individuals to pursue their passions with courage. Alonso's journey serves as a reminder that with hard work and determination, anyone can overcome obstacles and leave a lasting impact, regardless of the challenges they encounter. The book encourages readers to embrace their uniqueness and strive for excellence in their chosen endeavors.

The narrative also underscores the significance of cultural heritage and the arts' influence on society. It highlights how Alonso not only excelled as a dancer but also became a cultural ambassador for Cuba, promoting the elegance of ballet both domestically and internationally.

"Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage" is an empowering and beautifully crafted homage to a remarkable woman who shattered barriers in ballet. Rebel Girls has once again delivered a story that is both educational and inspiring, urging readers to dream ambitiously and pursue their passions. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in dance, history, or the stories of extraordinary women who have transformed the world. Alicia Alonso's legacy is a powerful reminder that with determination and love for one's craft, anything is possible.

Here’s a review for *Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage* by Rebel Girls:

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*Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage* by Rebel Girls is a captivating and empowering story that celebrates the incredible life of Alicia Alonso, a groundbreaking Cuban ballerina who defied all odds to achieve her dreams. Written for young readers, this inspiring biography highlights Alicia’s perseverance and passion for dance, even in the face of significant challenges like her near blindness.

The book beautifully captures Alicia's journey from her early love of ballet to becoming one of the most celebrated dancers in the world. Her determination to pursue her art, despite physical limitations and societal barriers, serves as a powerful lesson in resilience and the importance of following one’s dreams.

The storytelling is engaging and accessible, making it perfect for children, while the vibrant illustrations add an enchanting visual element, bringing Alicia’s world to life. The narrative also touches on her dedication to promoting the arts in Cuba and inspiring future generations of dancers.

This book is not only a celebration of Alicia Alonso’s incredible achievements but also a testament to the power of passion and persistence. It’s an excellent addition to the Rebel Girls series, and a must-read for young readers interested in the arts, dance, and stories of women who have changed the world.

This is narrative history, so there is dialogue that brings the story of this ballerina to life. As an older reader, I sometimes wanted more, but young readers will be satisfied with the level of detail. The artwork is beautiful throughout.

Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage was pretty interesting. Alicia rules :) in this story about her she really shines obvsly, showing off her strengths and personality in a way that makes the story for middle graders but also for older readers too

I love how this book uses novelization and illustrations to show us the story behind a great woman, artist and performer.

Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage is an inspiring tale from Rebel Girls about an incredible ballet star. A true Prima Donna who did and does inspire many to this day.

This story is one of courage, and perseverance in the dice of true adversity. Alicia had to fight against her own body for as long as she were able so that she could continue her love of ballet. However, I have to say I found the large jumps in time were jarring in the particular book, whilst sitting understand that these books are to be a short introduction to a character, I wished that this book could have been longer so it was a little smoother as events unfold.

I would highly recommend purchasing this book if your child has an interest in either Alicia Alonso or ballet in general as a good introduction to someone who showed the world the wonder of the art. After reading it myself, I watched videos of Alicia dancing and she was a wonder to witness in her performances.

I grew up dancing and yet I'd somehow never heard of Alicia Alonso before reading this book. This was a really inspiring story and I enjoyed learning her story. The illustrations were fun and I can definitely see middle grade readers loving this!

Thank you NetGalley and Rebel Girls for gifting me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a nonfiction retelling of Alicia Alonso's life story. Alicia Alonso was a world-renowned ballerina from Cuba, performing in New York City. She was incredibly talented and successful and her story is fascinating.
This was the first book in this series that I've read and I adored it! The illustrations were beautiful, and the story flowed very nicely. I learned about Alicia's successes and failures, about her sickness and bravery to continue dancing even through the sickness, and her efforts in building a ballet school in Havana, where she grew up.
I would recommend this book to everyone who would like to hear her story!

I love the Rebel Girl books that cover multiple women and so I was really interested in a Rebel Girls book that would focus on one woman. I loved this book and was glad that I was given the opportunity to read and review it!
I hadn't really heard about Alonso before or read much about her and so this was a great introduction for me.
I would recommend it for younger readers and even I would be interested in picking it back up again.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book follows Alicia Alonso as she learned to dance and her life. The book is perfect for middle-grade readers.

I love the Rebel Girls books! And this is no exception! I didn't know Alicia was sight impaired and that made this story even more inspiring! Being a professional ballerina is hard enough but add in her disability and this was a wonderful read!! I have a daughter that wants to be a ballerina so she was super into this one! I love that Rebel Girls are doing Middle Grade chapter books now!! I absolutely love this series and can't wait to read more!!

Thank you Rebel Girls and Netgalley for my review e-copy!

This is the beautiful story of a dancer, Alicia Alonso. What I enjoyed most about this story was that she had the opportunity to leave her home to grow as a dancer. She has numerous opportunities with ballet companies to show her skills and talents and eventually took this back to her hometown to train dancers. When a situation makes it harder for her to dance, Alicia finds a way to keep dance in her life.

This is a wonderful read for the young dancer in your life.

Thank you Netgalley and Rebel Girls for the opportunity to read this story.

Another inspiring story, wonderfully illustrated and not just for young girls. I learned a lot myself as I didn't know about Alicia Alonso before.

Another amazing book of the Rebel Girl Series, that highlights the life of Alicia Alonso. It's utterly inspiring to read about her life and dreams, which she achieved even though she became nearly blind. For others it would have been the end of their career but not for Alicia.

Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage is the story of the titular ballerina. This is a great chapter book that shares and celebrates the life of one of the world's best ballerinas, while also highlighting a Latina many Latinas don't know about! The delivery is effective and informative , as well as very entertaining. Rebel Girls has another hit story on their hands!! As a Latina and fan of several Rebel Girls titkes, K definitely recommend this one.

'Follow your own rhythm, and the world will dance along.'

The perfect book for my eldest daughter, who is a ballet lover! The text is simple to follow and the illustrations are beautiful. Plus, I personally enjoyed it too as I've learnt about an incredibly resilient woman I wasn't aware of before.

The Rebel Girls series does such a fantastic job it highlighting inspiring, strong women. I hadn't heard of Alicia Alonso prior to this book, but I am so glad I got to learn about her. I am inspired by her hard work and perseverance through the difficulties she experienced with her vision. I am awestruck at her ability to overcome and flourish in what she wanted to do ever since she was young.

as with the rest of the books i had the pleasure of reading so far this book was wonderful.
i love how this book and this entire series of books gives a nice overview from start to finish of a persons life, shows the struggles and successes, shows that highs and lows in realistic ways!
wonderfully written, beautiful book!
highly recommend for any reader of any age!

This was a short story on Alicia alonso and her rise to fame through everything and how she learned to dance around loosing her eyesight and achieving her dreams of helping others to learn to dance. This book was very inspiring and I would reccomend to younger girls to inspire them to do whatever they dream to.