Doris

by Sarah Jacoby (Author) Sarah Jacoby (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Doris dances to her own tune in this whimsical and emotionally resonant tale about finding the courage to be yourself.

Doris has always reveled in the warmth of a spotlight.

Her whole life, she's danced the nights away, With friends from the only home she's ever known. But one day, Doris twirls... Out Of Step ...Until she stumbles across a whole new kind of spotlight.

This gorgeous tale by award winning picture book creator Sarah Jacoby, filled with breathtaking art, is a classic in the making, reminiscent of favorites such as Ferdinand and Peter Rabbit. It will surely melt your heart and might even make you want to dance in the moonlight!

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
Inspiration to step—or dance—out of one’s comfort zone. 

ALA/Booklist

Magical and moving.

Publishers Weekly

This limpid story of self-discovery begins in a circus tent, where a dappled gray horse named Doris performs without a mistake ("Clip-clop, clip-clop") and finds only contentment: "It felt perfect." Inside the tent, it's golden and warm; outside, the light is icy blue. Upon noticing "a twinkling... out there," Doris ventures out into the moonlit landscape, moving her body in new ways. After a minute of hesitation ("She heard home echo in the distance"), she begins to dance in earnest ("clippity-skip-clop-trot"), until she's "dizzy with moonness. Whoa." Working digitally and in watercolor and pastels, Jacoby (So Much Snow) shows Doris's black mane flowing and swaying against fields of wintry blue as she finds a whole new, dancing self. But she's alone: "Did I wander too far? Am I the only one out here?" Readers see the brown pony before Doris does, a small figure dancing every bit as exuberantly as Doris. They both twirl and stretch as they discover each other as partners ("Whoa," both of them think) in this story about taking risks to enter a new world with curiosity and joy. Ages 3-6. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Aug.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Sarah Jacoby
Sarah Jacoby is the award-winning author and illustrator of such picture books as Can I Sit With You? and Forever Or a Day, about which the New York Times wrote, "Her soft illustrations, in lovely sunrise, sunset and moonlight colors, capture both wide-open spaces and the enduring bonds of family love." Sarah often thinks about colors and light as she dances in her little row home in Philadelphia.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250829382
Lexile Measure
520
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Roaring Brook Press
Publication date
August 15, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV002130 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Horses
Library of Congress categories
-

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!