Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. Although Madame Natalie tells Rosie that “practice and confidence” are responsible for her rapid turnaround in class, readers are still left with the disappointing message that it’s all about the shoes. Rosie is discouraged until a new pair of ballet shoes gives her the boost she needs. Tea for Ruby, written by Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, is an adorable story of a manners and imagination. But when her mother decides it’s time for ballet school, Rosie has a tough time keeping up with her more graceful classmates, and her missteps are amusingly portrayed.
Determined to be a prima ballerina, Rosie wears her tutu all the time, even while playing soccer and climbing trees. Rendered in mixed media and set against a white backdrop, the illustrations consist primarily of spare images of Rosie in constant motion-sliding down a banister (with her toes pointed, of course) and exuberantly dancing with her stuffed bear. Goode’s (the Louise the Big Cheese books) sprightly, wispy art is a show stealer, however, conveying Rosie’s personality with ease and humor. “I created a friendship between my heroine and Princess Louise, Queen Victoria’s sixth child, and I drew on many parallels from my life for Lady Margaret’s journey.Ferguson (the Little Red series) introduces a vivacious aspiring dancer in this mild, somewhat pat story. “I invented a history for her that incorporated real people and events, including some of my other ancestors,” Ferguson has said. The journey takes her to Ireland, America and back to Britain.Īnd if it all sounds more than a bit like Ferguson herself, that’s not by accident. The novel is a richly detailed look at Victorian England in the aftermath of Prince Albert’s death, focusing on the personal journey of Lady Margaret, a highborn yet free-spirited woman who decides to follow her heart and individual purpose rather than simply existing in the mold that had been set out for her at birth. But although her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, were close friends with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, I was unable to discover much about my namesake’s early life, and so was born the idea which became ‘Her Heart for a Compass.’ ” “Digging into the history of the Montagu Douglas Scotts, I first came across Lady Margaret, who intrigued me because she shared one of my given names. “It all started with researching my ancestry,” the duchess has explained.
The inspiration for Fergie’s latest book is her great-great-aunt, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott.
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