Princess Posey and the First Grade Ballet Read online

  Posey did feel those feelings. Everywhere she looked, girls in red hearts were dancing in the mirrors. They twirled. They leaped. They lifted up their arms and bent their knees.

  They were real ballerinas.

  Mrs. Romero was waiting for Posey in the coatroom after class.

  “Why are you here?” Posey asked.

  “Your mom and Gramps took Danny shopping,” Mrs. Romero said. “I said I would pick you up.”

  Posey told Mrs. Romero about the rehearsal on the way home.

  “Being a heart is very important,” Posey said.

  “It certainly is,” said Mrs. Romero. “Love and kindness are what Valentine’s Day is all about.”

  “That reminds me!” said Posey. “Are you giving Gramps a Valentine’s card?”

  “I am.” Mrs. Romero smiled. “Can you keep a secret?”

  Posey nodded.

  “I’m giving him a windmill for his garden, too.”

  “Gramps loves windmills,” said Posey. “Does that mean you love him?”

  Mrs. Romero laughed. “I love all of you,” she said.

  “That means you do,” Posey sang.

  AS BRAVE AS SHE COULD BE

  “How are you doing on your valentines?” Posey’s mom asked the next day.

  “This is my last envelope.” Posey wrote the name and put her pencil on the kitchen table.

  “You still have to sign all of the cards,” said her mom.

  “I know that.”

  Danny was watching an animal show in the living room. Every time an animal made a sound, Danny did, too.

  “ROAR!” he shouted.

  “He thinks he’s a real lion,” said Posey.

  “He acts like a real lion some of the time,” her mom said.

  “Mom, what does generosity mean?” Posey asked.

  “Where did that come from?”

  Posey told her about Miss Julia.

  “Generosity means being kind,” her mom said. “Giving to people who may not have as much as you do.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Posey put her envelopes in a pile. “There’s a girl in my class who doesn’t have valentines.”

  “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry,” said her mom. “Does Miss Lee know?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “If you tell her tomorrow, she’ll do something about it,” her mom said.

  Posey went up to her room.

  She didn’t want Miss Lee to do something about it. She wanted to do something about it by herself.

  Posey put on her pink tutu and her veil and stood in front of her mirror. She looked at herself for a long time.

  She knew what Princess Posey would do.

  She would give her cards to Jade because of generosity.

  That would be so hard.

  Posey was afraid it would make her cry.

  She wanted to be as brave as Princess Posey, but she wasn’t sure that she could.

  “DO YOU WANT TO SHARE?”

  The next day, Posey went to Jade’s table just before lunch. Jade was drawing a picture.

  “Do you want to see something, Jade?” she asked.

  Jade didn’t look up.

  Posey took her cards out of her pack. “These are my valentines. I can’t give them to you because then I won’t have any,” she said. “So do you want to share them?”

  Jade kept drawing. Her long hair hid her face like a curtain.

  Posey leaned down until her cheek almost touched the table. She tried to see Jade’s face.

  “We can put both our names,” Posey said. “Do you want to?”

  The curtain shook back and forth.

  “Posey and Jade, do you need some help?”

  Posey sat up.

  It was Miss Lee.

  “Jade doesn’t have valentines, so I asked her if she wants to share mine, but she said no,” Posey told her.

  “Oh, I see,” said Miss Lee. “That was very kind of you, Posey. Do you think maybe Jade would like her own cards?”

  “I’ll check.”

  Posey put her head against the table again. “Jade, do you want your own cards?”

  Jade finally looked at her. Her eyes were blue.

  Posey sat up. “She does.”

  “Okay, then.” Miss Lee held out her hand. “Jade, if you come with me, I have cards I can print out and you can color. Would you like that?”

  Jade nodded. She stood up and took Miss Lee’s hand.

  “Posey, why don’t you and Jade stay here during lunch and finish up your cards?” Miss Lee said.

  “Okay.”

  Posey went and got her lunch bag. Jade came back with her lunch tray. Miss Lee put scissors and a box of markers and crayons on the table between them.

  Then she left them alone.

  Posey unpacked her sandwich. “You know what I did one time?” she said.

  She told Jade about Hero. About the time she had to push Hero’s paw back through the fence. How scared she was that Hero might bite her.

  Jade didn’t say anything. But Posey could tell she was listening.

  THE VALENTINE’S DAY BALLET

  On Valentine’s Day, Gramps and Mrs. Romero drove Posey to her recital after school. She held her mailbox in her lap in the backseat. She lifted it up and shook it.

  “I have twenty-four cards in here,” Posey said.

  “You’ll have to wait to open those when you get home,” said Gramps.

  They parked at the ballet school. Posey looked at all the cars. Butterflies fluttered their wings in her stomach.

  “Mom and Danny aren’t here,” she said.

  “Don’t you worry. Your mom was getting out of work early,” said Gramps.

  “What if she’s late?” Posey asked.

  “She’ll be here,” said Mrs. Romero.

  They went inside.

  “Go on, now,” Gramps said. He gave Posey a gentle nudge. “Go put on that beautiful costume.”

  Posey hurried to the studio. All the girls were getting dressed. The air felt like electricity.

  Miss Julia gave Posey the costume with her name pinned on it. The assistant tied Posey’s bows.

  Caroline was already dressed. “Something’s wrong with Lin,” she said.

  Lin was sitting on a chair. She looked as if she was going to cry.

  Posey went over to her. “Do you have a scared stomach?” she asked.

  Lin shook her head. “My net got a hole in it. I can’t wear it.” She held it up.

  “That’s okay. I’m wearing my old leotard,” Posey said. “We’ll still be beautiful.”

  “We will?”

  “Of course. Because dancing makes us so happy,” Posey said.

  Then it was time for them to line up.

  No one talked. They filed down the hall to the stage. It sounded like there were a hundred million people in the auditorium.

  Posey wished she could see her mom. What if she didn’t get here? What if she missed Posey’s first ever recital?

  Miss Julia stopped at the curtain. The line stopped behind her.

  “Big breaths, everyone,” Miss Julia whispered. She took a deep breath and held it to show them. The little girls did, too. They all let their breaths out at the same time.

  Miss Julia turned and walked out into the lights.

  The audience hushed. It was so quiet.

  Someone coughed.

  Then Posey heard a sound that made her eyes open wide.

  “MOOOOO!”

  They made it! All of her riches were here.

  Posey followed the ballerinas onto the stage and danced with all of her heart.

  Watch for the next PRINCESS POSEY book!

  PRINCESS PSEY

/>   and the

  CRAZY, LAZY VACATION

  When Posey’s mom says they are going to have a lazy spring vacation at home, Posey is worried she won’t have any fun. But her first loose tooth, a new bike, a sleepover at Nikki’s, and an adventure with Gramps prove her wrong. Turns out it’s impossible for a first grader to have a boring vacation!

  Looking for more?

  Visit Penguin.com for more about this author and a complete list of their books.

  Discover your next great read!