Ali and the Sea Stars

PreS-Gr 2–“Ali was a sister and a seashell spotter. She was a boogie boarder, a beach bather, and a friend to everyone in Breezy Beach. Best of all, Ali was...a dancer, a singer, and an actor.” Or that’s the plan. Right now, Ali’s a young girl with big dreams that far outstrip her use of a wheelchair. Yes, Ali in the picture book is real-life Broadway and television star Ali Stroker’s engaging, exuberantly illustrated alter ego, and although Reid’s illustrations show Ali’s wheelchair on the beach, onstage, and everywhere Ali goes. Her identity never mentioned in the narrative until the author’s note. The main character decides that her future performance goals need not wait and puts on a show, with friends and family taking on the parts of Peter Pan, including Dad as Tinkerbell. A mostly white cast, with a minor show of diversity in supporting roles, throws themselves into the performance, despite a gullywasher of a rainstorm and lots of imagination for some last-minute stagecraft.