This is It!

A young ballerina explores her city through dance, in this striking picture book about movement, individuality, and self-expression. Beautifully rendered in debut author-illustrator Daria Peoples-Riley’s distinctive art style, this debut will appeal to fans of Misty Copeland’s Firebird.

The future is in your footsteps. / Freedom is in your feet. / Put one in front of the other, / and greet your destiny.

When a young dancer is nervous about her upcoming audition at a dance studio, her shadow comes to life and encourages her to “Listen to the hum of your heart’s song. / It will never lead you wrong.” As the pair dances through the city, the young girl gains confidence in her body, her skills, and her ability to shine. She returns to her audition with her head held high, ready to show the world what she’s made of.

With a lyrical text that reads like a spoken-word poem and exquisite mixed-media watercolor art, Daria Peoples-Riley’s debut is a love story to dance, self-confidence, and the joy of movement and is reminiscent of Debbie Allen’s popular Dancing in the Wings. Her message of self-reliance is sure to resonate with girls of all ages, and especially with fans of Misty Copeland, Marilyn Singer’s Tallulah’s Tutu, and Matt de la Peña’s Last Stop on Market Street.

Daria Peoples-Riley grew up in Paso Robles, California, and is the daughter of a children’s librarian. She has a degree in English from UC Santa Barbara and earned her masters in education from Regis University, then worked for ten years as a middle school teacher. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her basketball-coach husband, twelve-year-old ballerina daughter, and a nine-year-old basketball-player son. This Is It is her first book.