Josephine Wants to Dance
Illustrated by Bruce Whatley
A story about dreams, beliving in yourself ... and a dancing kangaroo.
Josephine is a kangaroo - who loves to dance. Her little brother, Joey, tells her that kangaroos don't dance, they hop - but Josephine continues to point her toes and leap through the air. When a ballet troupe comes to town and both the lead ballerina and understudy are injured, Josephine's talents are called upon to help save the day. Can she do it and, more importantly, does it matter that she's a kangaroo?
Some notes on the book
There are cameos for Mothball wombat too, and the sheep and shearers from Pete the Sheep.
Josephine is based on a real kangaroo, just as Pete and Diary of a Wombat were based on real animals too.
Josephine is based on a roo called Fuchsia and a wallaby called Rosie. Fuchsia was the kangaroo that danced through our lives when my son was small. They'd dance to ' Newspaper Mama!', and then we'd go for a walk. Well, Edward and I would walk, and Fuchsia would dance around us....
Rosie shares our garden with Mothball wombat. Mothball eats the carrots, and Rosie eats the roses. As I wrote Josephine wants to Dance I'd watch Rosie delicately pick a rose with her teeth, then pass it down to her baby. And if you'd visited our farm this morning you'd have seen a small brown wallaby happily bounding through the apple trees with a rose in her mouth.
Josephine is about a kangaroo who loves to dance, but it also teaches kids to dream...and to keep working for their dream as well.