The Ballet Class

McNicholas’s assured draughtsmanship and evident familiarity with her subject matter make for a delightful accompaniment to Geras’ text. The movements of the children as they practise their curtsies, pliés and jetés, are beautifully observed, full of humour without ever slipping into ‘cuteness’ or sentimentality. Their enthusiasm and awkwardness is captured perfectly (complete with bottom scratching) as the children prepare for the big performance in front of their parents.

This is a book full of charming evocation of everyday life, rich in the magic of minor detail – gestures, costumes, mums juggling new-borns and first-borns, the haphazard furniture and environment of an anonymous community centre with its cold floors, notice-boards and stacks of chairs. The text is written in the first person, as told by one of the children, and readers will share her nervousness as the big night nears.