Product Description

Pearl has new skates.
They are real skates
(not double runners),
and she can't wait to try them.

Pearl inches out onto the frozen pond.
But instead of twirling,
she topples.
Instead of spinning,
she falls -- splaaat!

Pearl has new skates.
They are shiny white
with red tassels,
and she loves them.

Will Pearl ever skate in real life the way she skates in her dreams?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #511245 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-01
• Released on: 2004-12-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 24 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2 - Pearl can't wait to try out her new birthday skates, but she slips and topples head over heels every time she attempts to stand up on them. At first, the young rabbit wants to give up. However, after a bit of gentle encouragement from Uncle Jack and through her own persistence, she eventually achieves success. Attractive pastel watercolors show an exuberant Pearl as she dreams of twirling on the ice, yet, a few pages later, readers find a shocked bunny who has fallen flat on her face. Using simple lines, Keller manages to give her characters a great deal of expression. Youngsters will empathize with Pearl's initial disappointment and rejoice in her eventual success. Pair this book with Katharine Holabird's Angelina Ice Skates (Pleasant Co., 2001) for a skating-themed storytime. - Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 2. Once again, Keller offers a gentle animal story that beautifully captures a child's anxieties. Little rabbit Pearl can't wait for the pond to freeze so that she can use her new ice skates. At home she practices twirls and jumps, imagining herself gliding across the ice like a dancer. When she finally takes her inaugural spin on the ice, however, she falls and then wants to go home. After Pearl spends a few frustrated days indoors, her uncle Jack offers to take her skating on a quiet morning, and Pearl learns to start slowly, stay upright, and enjoy herself. With her pitch-perfect text and uncluttered watercolor-and-ink pictures that seem ready-made for an animated series, Keller tells a tender story about accepting the failures and frustrations that come with learning something new. Children will easily recognize Pearl's wild ambitions, obstinate fears, and then her glee as she realizes that she doesn't have to be "a ballerina on the ice right away." Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Holly Keller is the creator of many popular books for children, including the Horace books, Farfallina & Marcel, and Help! In applauding her work, School Library Journal noted that she is "an author/artist who truly understands children." Holly Keller lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Pride and Prejudice, Bunny Style
When Pearl receives a pair of grown-up single blade skates for her birthday, she can hardly wait for the ice to form on the nearby lake. The cheerful, optimistic bunny puts on a red skating skirt that Grandma made her, and practices twirls and jumps on the floor. There's a big, confident look on her face-she's very proud of herself!

Pearl's pride turns into snobbery, however, when the lake finally freezes over. She turns down her good friend Thistle's invitation to skate, because Thistle is wearing plain skates with double blades. Pearl, also refuses her Uncle Jack's gentle offer to help her: "'No thank you,' said Pearl. `I don't need any help.'" But Pearl is soon skating on thin ice because she counted her eggs before they hatched (a doubly mixed metaphor), so to speak... Twirling on imaginary blades is one thing, but skating is entirely different.

But instead of going forward,
Pearl lost her balance.
She swayed back and forth.
Her arms went around like pinwheels.
Her bottom hit the ice with a thump...

Dejected, Pearl goes home, not listening to her Mom's words that becoming an ice ballerina takes time. And the next day, Pearl doesn't want to skate...or read, or draw. Her Uncle Jack suggests that they practice together the next morning, before anyone else is there. At first she refuses, but her uncle has such a nice smile that she decides to go, warning that she "might not stay very long." Her mom also makes a thermos of hot chocolate for them to share. . Pearl shows perseverance (one of the key words under which this book is catalogued), but it's really Uncle Jack who doesn't give up, and eventually Pearl joyously feels the wind rushing past her ears as she moves on her single-bladed skates against a beautifully drawn blur of green trees. With the soft green trees and blue sky about them, she and Uncle Jack sit down and enjoy some hot chocolate. When she gets home, Pearl calls her friend Thistle and they skate hand in hand together the next day.

Holly Keller's wonderful book is emotionally honest, showing the real highs and lows that Pearl experiences. Pearl is likeable and ebullient, but she isn't always nice, and Keller doesn't sugarcoat it (nor does she paint her as a "bad" person). One of the many highlights of this book is the way the entire family supports Pearl, including her Grandmother and her Uncle Jack. Jack is especially well drawn: His facial expressions and his entire body language suggest patient, good-natured acceptance. The soft, interesting colors and patterns, done in watercolors and black line add to the visual interest. Another winning book from Keller and her publisher, Greenwillow!

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