SOPHIE & The Magic of Dance

Sophie & the Magic of Dance is a fear-free, feel-good story for middle readers, providing a safe, peaceful playground for young imaginations. The main character is a passionate 8-year-old girl and talented dancer who finds inspiration and music to fuel her dream everywhere she goes - on her trips to the big city for ballet classes and on walks in the beautiful, mystical forest beside her home. There she spends time with Papa, an artist who carries his sketchbook everywhere he goes, and her forest friends including Winnie Wind, the Sunbeams, the Beaver family, Pavlova the Monarch butterfly and wise Pechanga, the oldest tree in all the woodlands. Sophie works hard in her ballet classes with Mme. Ziss preparing for a successful audition with Canada's National Ballet School where she envisions her dream of being a professional dancer coming true. She learns her technique very well in class but ultimately, discovers the true "magic of dance" - that spark which is the mark of any great dancer - in a story told by the ancient oak about a First Nation's girl from long ago who found her inspiration to dance in the elements of nature: the air, water, earth and fire. Sophie & the Magic of Dance, written and illustrated by Shelley Richardson, M.Ed, college English professor and AMI Elementary Montessori Educator, provides a bridge over the troubled waters of contemporary fear-based storytelling. There are no villains, scary characters or violent scenes. Key messages about daring to dream, the power of positive thinking, loving nature and living passionately from the heart are modelled through the main character's dedication to dance and her friendship with delightful characters in the natural world. Sophie is a remedy for our times, inspiring young readers to seek and be in love with the beauty of life and all its wonderful possibilities.