The friends of Shimmer and Shine Dance Studio are back in this second installment of Ballet Besties.  This time, the focus is on Indu, a shy girl who learns to use her voice to help herself and others.  The Shimmer and Shine kids are putting on another show, this time Cinderella.  To help inspire them, they take a field trip to see the ballet performed at a local theater.  Not wanting to miss out, but also not wanting to admit that she can’t afford the tickets, Indu forges her mom’s signature and lies about the money and goes on the trip with her friends.  After coming clean to her dance teacher and her mom and realizing that other kids also struggled to pay for their ticket, Indu suggests they create a scholarship so everyone can enjoy learning to dance, not just the rich kids.  Indu and her friends and their families put on an auction after their own performance of Cinderella, which they opened up to the public as an additional fundraiser.  

This novel for readers beginning their independence with chapter books, is ideal for kids who like dance or stories about friendship and perseverance.  Indu and her group of diverse friends support and encourage each other.  Readers will enjoy the black and white drawings throughout the book, as well as the ballet hand and feet positions found at the back of the book.  Libraries that have the first book in the Ballet Besties series will want to add this one to their collection, not only because it’s a fun series, but it addresses a common concern of affordability for extra curricular activities that many families have to navigate.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library