Born in 1925, Maria Tallchief spent part of her childhood on an Osage reservation in Oklahoma. With the support of her family and world-renowned choreographer George Balanchine, she rose to the top of her art form to become America's first prima ballerina. Black-and-white illustrations provide visual sidebars to the history of ballet while taking readers through the life of this amazing dancer.

Illustrated by Val Paul Taylor.

About Catherine Gourley

Visit Cathy at www.catherinegourley.com!!

I write social histories--stories about ordinary people who find themselves, usually by choice, in extraordinary circumstances. My latest book explores a grim chapter in American history--the Andersonville Civil War Prison Camp. More often, however, I write about women's history through the lens of media and popular culture. When I'm not writing nonfiction books for young adults, I am managing Letters About Literature, a reading and writing promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress or watching old movies. I am the principal curriculum writer for The Story of Movies, an educaitonal outreach program of Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation. I grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, but I have lived along the Gulf Coast of Texas, Chicago, a tiny town in Western Pennsylvania on the edge of Elk Forest, Connecticut . . . well, in short, I move around a lot. Right now home is Woodbridge, Virginia.