Ella Bella Ballerina and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Ella Bella’s fifth outing sees the dancer transported into a ballet based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After meeting Puck, who Mayhew pictures as a Peter Pan–like sprite, the children help Oberon conspire to trick Titania into falling in love with Bottom, who has been given the head of a donkey. While it’s a fairly idiosyncratic story for Ella Bella to explore, Mayhew fills the pages with fairy mischief and magic, even after the heroine returns to the real world. An endnote discusses Mendelssohn’s musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, which has been used in several ballets. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)