Books Books: Picture Books

Ellie’s Dancing Shoes

May 16, 2025May 16, 2025 by onemoreexclamation

Welcome to Ellie’s Dancing Shoes by Scott Sollers Book Tour hosted by The Childrens Book Review.

About the Book

Title: Ellie’s Dancing Shoes

Written by: Scott Sollers

Illustrated by: Bryan Janky

Ages: 4-8 | 38 Pages

Publisher: Mascot Books

ISBN: 979-8891383418

Find it: Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Bookshop.org

There is nothing Ellie wants more than to become a ballerina.

Every day she practices her stretches, leaps, twirls, and jumps. But Ellie doesn’t believe in herself. Her self-doubt gets in the way, and when she stretches, she slips. When she bends, she falls over. She leaps, she slides. When she twirls or jumps, she gets all twisted and slumped over.

Until one day, her parents gave Ellie her grandmother’s magical dancing shoes. Soon, there are only graceful jumps, beautiful leaps, and dizzying twirls.

When the day of Ellie’s audition to become a ballerina arrives, her magic dancing shoes are lost. Will Ellie find them in time before her audition, or must she perform without them?

A beautifully illustrated story that shows children that their magic can be found within.

Review for Ellie’s Dancing Shoes

This children’s book is perfect from start to finish. The illustrations are gorgeous and do a fabulous job showcasing the story. We loved Ellie’s enthusiasm for ballet and was sad about her lack of self confidence. We cheered with grandma’s magic dancing shoes. I took dance lessons for years and could have definitely used some magic shoes.

When a tragedy takes place, Ellie is devastated – with good reason! I was a little “on the fence” with the parent’s role in the story (sorry, no spoilers here) but decided in the end, it was with good intentions, done in love, and was actually a genius move! We loved this book and highly recommend it for the littles in your life.

Imagine our surprise when we flipped to the last page to see two other books in the author’s portfolio – and smiled when we realized we already have both of them on our bookshelf!

I received a copy of this book to share my opinion.

About the Author

Scott Sollers worked as an investment banker in the municipal securities industry for decades. He created Ellie’s Dancing Shoes and other nighttime stories for his daughter Stephanie when she was a youngster. Originally, he handwrote and illustrated these stories and finally had the inspiration to get them published. Scott is an avid golfer and the president of First Tee for the San Francisco region, a not-for-profit organization that teaches core values through golf to children. He currently resides in San Mateo, California, with his cat Charlie.

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Giveaway for Ellie’s Dancing Shoes

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