Blushing at the compliment, she tells the teacher that she is a “ballerina in my heart.” But problems again develop as Brontorina learns more and more difficult ballet steps. Even Madame Lucille tells Brontorina that she dances with great grace. Still, the children are enchanted that the brontosaurus dances with such determination and precision. Brontorina repeatedly bashes her head in the ceiling as she tries to leap delicately across the floor. The spinning “Arabesque” goes well, but the leaping runs of “Jete” end in disaster. Brontorina does the same thing except that she is so big that her head smashes through the roof of the classroom.

But trouble soon arrives when Madame Lucille shouts out “Releve.” All the children go on toe and put their hands delicately over their heads. Brontorina is thrilled that her dream is at last being realized. At last the ballet instructor allows Brontorina to join the class as long as she doesn’t squish the other dancers. A dancing dinosaur? The children beg her to allow Brontorina to take lessons. Brontorina acknowledges this to be true but tells the teacher that she is a ballerina in her heart. Madame Lucille points out to Brontorina that dinosaurs do not take ballet. A brontosaurus, named Brontorina, stands outside the class and asks Madame if she can join the class. It is ballet class at Madame Lucille’s Dance Academy for Girls and Boys. Is such a thing possible? James Howe shows us that dreams can come true with the help of others. Brontorina is a brontosaurus longing to perform ballet.

James Howe has written a cute story about such a dream. Whether that is playing sports, music or joining scouts, children can develop their imaginations through dreams.

While it is true that not all dreams are possible, children should be encouraged to explore the possibilities open to them. To take away dreams is to take away hope. But dreams are the stuff on which lives are built. Often times, they are discouraged from seeking a dream because it seems so unlikely. Sometimes people have dreams of achieving difficult tasks. “Brontorina,” by James Howe, illustrated by Randy CecilĬandlewick Press, Somerville, Mass., 2010, 32 pages, Grades K-2.