Ellie’s Dancing Shoes by Scott Sollers Book Review PLUS A Giveaway! #ElliesDancingShoes ~

This post is sponsored by Expound Publicity. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal views.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ellie’s Dancing Shoes

Written by Scott Sollers

Illustrated by Bryan Janky

Ages: 4-8 | 38 Pages

Publisher: Mascot Books (2025) | ISBN: 979-8891383418

Publisher’s Book Summary: There is nothing Ellie wants more than to become a ballerina.

Every day she practices her stretches, leaps, twirls, and jumps. But Ellie doesn’t believe in herself. Her self-doubt gets in the way, and when she stretches, she slips. When she bends, she falls over. When she leaps, she slides. When she twirls or jumps, she gets all twisted and slumped over.

Until one day, her parents gave Ellie her grandmother’s magical dancing shoes. Soon, there are only graceful jumps, beautiful leaps, and dizzying twirls.

When the day of Ellie’s audition to become a ballerina arrives, her magic dancing shoes are lost. Will Ellie find them in time before her audition, or must she perform without them?

A beautifully illustrated story that shows children that their magic can be found within.

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Bookshop.org

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott Sollers worked as an investment banker in the municipal securities industry for decades. He created Ellie’s Dancing Shoes and other nighttime stories for his daughter Stephanie when she was a youngster. Originally, he handwrote and illustrated these stories and finally had the inspiration to get them published. Scott is an avid golfer and the president of First Tee for the San Francisco region, a not-for-profit organization that teaches core values through golf to children. He currently resides in San Mateo, California, with his cat Charlie.

For more information, visit scottsollersauthor.com.

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MY REVIEW

I can remember wanting to be a dancer when I was younger and that’s the reason that I jumped at the chance to review Ellie’s Dancing Shoes by Scott Sollers. This book is beautifully written and the perfect book for any child as it teaches a lesson of being confident in one’s self rather than doubting yourself. In this book, Ellie dreams of becoming a ballerina, ever since she was young, and when practicing she would have issues slipping and falling when trying to perform her ballet moves which made her doubt herself. Her parents overheard her becoming upset after practicing one day and decided to give Ellie her grandmother’s magical ballet slippers. With those ballet slippers Ellie found her confidence and began to shine through as a ballet dancer…. getting better and better with each and every practice. As she grows older and is about to audition to become a ballerina…. Ellie loses her ‘magical’ ballet slippers and goes into a panic. Her parents purchase a used pair and make them look like the pair that she lost…. in order to help her to gain her confidence back and give them to her …. telling her that they found the pair that she had lost. Ellie nails the audition and comes home with the great news and that is when her parents admit to her that these ballet slippers were never magical and that they were never her grandmothers to begin with. They explain they just did that to help give her that confidence boost that she needed and from then on Ellie found that she no longer needed the ‘magical’ ballet slippers. She became the awesome ballerina that she dreamed of as a child and all without the need of magical slippers. She knew that she could do anything that she set her mind to after that and that is a beautiful thing indeed. I just loved this incredible children’s book and highly recommend it as the lesson that it provides is a beautiful life lesson for any child. Ellie’s Dancing Shoes is the perfect book to add to your child’s reading library and the perfect gift too!