Ready for the Spotlight!

An exuberant and relatable picture book about sibling rivalry, ballet, and finding your free-form self.

Confidence goes a long way, and so does practice—but the support of a loving family and community matters even more in this winsome tale of dancing your way into your own unique talents. Tessie has taken ballet for a whole month and thinks she has it down. If it weren’t for her big sister, Maya, who seems to own the spotlight, Tessie would dazzle the whole class. But when Maya lands the lead—and the coveted princess crown—in the fall recital, not even freestyle dancing can fully rescue Tessie’s spirits. But maybe they each have something to teach and the spotlight is big enough for two? Jaime Kim’s author-illustrator debut captures the shifting emotions of competition, sisterhood, and joy in movement with warmth, charm, and a delicious candy-bright palette.

Jaime (Jimyung) Kim was born and raised in Korea before moving to the United States at the age of eighteen. She has illustrated many books for young readers, including La La La: A Story of Hope by Kate DiCamillo, And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner, Around the Table that Grandad Built by Melanie Heuiser Hill, and Isle of You by David LaRochelle. Jaime Kim lives in North Carolina.