Ballewiena

Dotty the dachshund isn’t like other dogs. When commanded to stay, sit, or roll over, she pliés, assemblés, and pirouettes. She has big dreams of being a ballet dancer. While other dogs walk obediently next to their owner, Dotty practices her dance moves. But this isn’t enough. She wants to perform for a real audience. Yet, much to her dismay, she is enrolled in the Canine School of Obedience and not ballet school. This experience, suppressing her desire to dance, proves to be too challenging. It isn’t until she meets a squirrel and participates in his daily exercise that she learns discipline and focus.

Author and illustrator Rebecca Bender’s charming and engaging picture book, Ballewiena, anthropomorphizes a dachshund who struggles to be accepted by her owner and peers. She doesn’t follow basic commands, she’s miserable being restrained on a leash, and her owner doesn’t enroll her in the Golden Bow Talent Show. Instead, Dotty is sent to an obedience school where she fails to conform and must suppress her instincts to dance.

Young readers will be drawn to the colourful illustrations, highlighting a dog’s perspective, as the humans in the story – the owner, the trainer, and audience members at the dog show – are all drawn in black and white, further emphasizing the canine characters. This familiar story about acceptance is ideal for young readers ages 4-7 as it consists of a slightly longer narrative, with appropriate vocabulary touching on such themes as resilience, discipline, the power of friendship, and accepting differences.