Most Popular Books by Elaine Deprince

"In Sierra Leone, mabinty Bangura - ''a girl with skin like a leopard'' - is cherished and educated by her parents. Then the civil war rips her family apart: her father is murdered by rebels, and her mother sickens and dies. At just four years old, she is sent to an orphanage, where daily life can be harsh, and the violence outside presses even closer. But one day, the Harmattan winds blow a magazine against the gates - its cover photograph showing a beautiful ballerina. mabinty declares that, someday, she will dance like this lady, and be as happy..."--Back cover.

Perfect for newly independent readers—discover the amazing life of one of America’s top ballerinas, Michaela DePrince, whose story is soon to be told in a major motion picture directed by Madonna. At the age of three, Michaela DePrince found a photo of a ballerina that changed her life. She was living in an orphanage in Sierra Leone at the time, but was soon adopted by a family and brought to America. Michaela never forgot the photo of the dancer she once saw, and quickly decided to make her dream of becoming a ballerina come true. She has been dancing ever since and is now a principal dancer in New York City and has been featured in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Oprah magazine. Young readers will love learning about this inspiring ballerina in this uplifting and informative leveled reader. This Step 4 Step into Reading book is for newly independent readers who read simple sentences with confidence.

The extraordinary memoir of an orphan who danced her way from war-torn Sierra Leone to ballet stardom, most recently appearing in Beyonce’s Lemonade and as a principal in a major American dance company. "Michaela is nothing short of a miracle, born to be a ballerina. For every young brown, yellow, and purple dancer, she is an inspiration!” —Misty Copeland, world-renowned ballet dancer Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a “devil child” for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and is now the youngest principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has appeared in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as on Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Nightline. In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet’s most exciting rising stars. “Michaela DePrince is the embodiment of what it means to fight for your dream.” —Today “Michaela DePrince is a role model for girls on and off stage.” —NYLON

On the day of my birth, my mother had already decided that she wanted to give me away. She had made this decision even though she had not yet known the extent of the problems that would confront me. As it turned out, there were many, including the fact that I was not born a beautiful baby. Actually, I was considered to be quite ugly, disfigured by a cleft lip and palate that left a gaping hole in the middle of my face. In addition, I was born deaf, covered with bruises, and showed signs of haemophilia, an ancient life-threatening hereditary bleeding disorder. I longed to be hugged, kissed, and cuddled in my mother''s arms, but that was not about to happen. Instead, I spent months in a hospital crib, as I recovered from complicated facial surgery. Following the surgery, I was placed in a dark room of a foster home, and left to languish in loneliness for several months. On a dark snowy night, shortly before Christmas, a man and woman arrived at the home of my foster parents. They had driven five hundred miles through a blizzard, and requested to see me... see me! No one had ever before asked to see me! My only previous visits away from the foster home were trips to the hospital for painful medical procedures.

The poignant and shocking story of a mother whose hemophiliac sons contracted AIDS through blood transfusions, this work presents a scathing indictment of the blood-products industry. DePrince brings to her story the zeal of a superb investigative reporter and the rage of a grieving mother.

" J''ai parfois l''impression d''être encore l''orpheline d''hier, la pikin sale et affamée qui, dans sa terreur, se raccrochait de toutes ses forces à un unique espoir, celui de devenir un jour danseuse. À l''époque, je m''appelais Mabinty Bangura, et je dansais pieds nus dans la boue à la saison des pluies. " Mabinty Bangura est née en Sierra Leone en 1995, alors que la guerre civile fait rage. Quand ses parents meurent, aucun membre de sa famille n''est prêt à l''accueillir, car l''enfant souffre d''une maladie de peau, le vitiligo, qui, selon les superstitions africaines, serait une manifestation de sorcellerie. Numéro 27 dans un orphelinat, elle est contre toute attente adoptée à l''âge de quatre ans par une famille américaine et rejoint les États-Unis. Rebaptisée Michaela, elle n''aura plus qu''un rêve : devenir ballerine. Après avoir survécu à la guerre, la maladie et la famine, son combat sera de se faire une place dans l''exigeant milieu de la danse classique, où les préjugés sur la couleur de peau sont particulièrement présents... Michaela DePrince et sa mère nous livrent ici un récit bouleversant, le témoignage d''un destin exceptionnel et d''une force de vie hors du commun.

Eneminyaka amithathu, uMichaela DePrince wathola isithombe somdansi we-bhaleyi esasizoguqula ukuphila kwakhe unomphelo. Ngaleyonkathi wayehlala endaweni ezintandaneni e-Sierra Leone, kodwa maduzane watholwa umndeni othile wayiswa eMelika. Nakuba ekuqaleni wayengazi ukuthi i-bhaleyi iyini akasikhohlwanga isithombe somdansi we-bhaleyi ake wasibona. Wayefisa ukujabula njengalomdansi. Lapho umama owamtholayo ebona ukuzimisela kwakhe nge-bhaleyi, waqalisa ukumyisa ezifundweni ze-bhaleyi. Selokhu adansa kusuka lapho kuze kube manje. UMichaela waqokwa njengomdansi osemqoka omncane kunabo bonke ku-Dance Theatre yase-Harlem. Manje udansa ne-Dutch National Ballet, inkampani ephezulu ye-bhaleyi yasemandulo. UMichaela waba ngumlingisi oyinhloko ku-First Position, idokhumentari eyawina umklomelo. Usebonakale kaningi kuthelevishini kuhlanganise i-Dancing with the Stars ne-BBC News. Ngo-2015, uhlelo lwethelevishini yase-Hollandi lwenza ukuthi uMichaela abonane okokuqala no-Magali Messac, umdansi we-bhaleyi owayesesithombeni.

Michaela DePrince was ''n driejarige oorlogwesie in Sierra Leone toe sy op ''n dag ''n windverwaaide tydskrif optel met die foto van ''n glimlaggende ballerina op die voorblad. Daardie dag het haar obsessie met ballet begin. Sy het haarself daar en dan voorgeneem sy sou eendag ook so gelukkig soos die vrou op die foto wees. Sy is kort daarna deur ''n Amerikaanse gesin aangeneem. Sy het egter nooit die foto van die ballerina vergeet nie. Toe haar nuwe ma bewus word van haar belangstelling in ballet het sy begin klasse neem. Sedertdien het sy nog nooit ophou dans nie en vandag is sy ''n hoogs suksesvolle ballerina. ''n Storie wat enige jong meisie (of seun) sal inspireer om groot te droom.

UMichaela DePrince wathi xa eneminyaka emithathu wachola ifoto yomdanisi webhaleyi. Loo foto yabutshintsha ubomi bakhe. Ngelo xesha wayehlala kwikhaya labantwana abangenabazali eSierra Leone. Kodwa wakhawuleza wathathwa lusapho oluthile lwamenza umntwana walo, lwaza waya kuhlala naye eMelika. Nangona uMichaela wayeqale ngokungayazi ukuba yintoni ibhaleyi, zange ayilibale ifoto yomdanisi webhaleyi awayeyibone ebuncinaneni bakhe. Wayefuna ukonwaba njengaloo mdanisi. Umama wakhe wamsa kwizifundo zebhaleyi esakuqaphela indlela ayithanda ngayo. Yaba kukuqala kwakhe ukudanisa oko. UMichaela wachongwa njengoyena mdanisi mncinane kwiDance Theatre of Harlem yaye ngoku udanisa neDutch National Ballet, eyona nkampani iphambili kwibhaleyi. UMichaela uye wangumdanisi ophambili kwidotyhumentari eyaziwayo, iFirst Position. Ukhe wavela kwiTV amatyeli ngamatyeli, kuquka kwiDancing with the Stars, Good Morning America nakwiBBC News. Ngo-2014, iThe Times yamfaka kwi‘Top 25 Under 20’ uMichaela yaza iElle UK yamfaka kwi‘30 Under 30’. Ngo-2015, inkqubo yeTV yesiDatshi iye yalungiselela ukuba uMichaela adibane okokuqala noMegali Messac, laa mdanisi webhaleyi wayembone efotweni.

Elaine Grey is a gentle young woman, full of generosity, kindness, and determination. Though her father died when she was young, the strong women in her life support her and inspire her: her mother, her governess, and her wealthy sponsor - Lady Jayne Vining. Elaine''s hope is to study medicine, nearly an impossibility in Victorian England. Then, when she is orphaned, and loses Lady Jayne as well, her hope grinds to a halt. She has no choice than to serve as governess to Lady Jayne''s granddaughters: Rose and Violet. Shortly after Elaine moves in with their family, Rose and Violet become ill with a mysterious disease. VICTORIAN SNOWFLAKES is another young adult fiction by Elaine DePrince, author of FÜR ÉLISE: The Story of My Lives, and co-author of the memoir, TAKING FLIGHT: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina.

Van weesmeisje tot internationale sterballerina, waargebeurd verhaal van Michaela DePrince. Op een stormachtige dag blies de wind een tijdschrift over de weg. Ik rende er achteraan en kreeg het te pakken. Op de voorkant stond een mooie foto van een vrouw. Ze droeg roze schoentjes en stond op de punten van haar tenen. Ze zag er heel gelukkig uit. Dit is het waargebeurde verhaal hoe Michaela DePrince van een eenzaam weesmeisje uitgroeide tot een internationale balletdanseres. Een bijzondere vertelling om voor altijd in je hart te sluiten!

Levensverhaal van ballerina Michaela DePrince (1995).

Analytische annotatie: Verhaal van de in Sierra Leone in erbarmelijke omstandigheden opgegroeide Mabinty Bangura die na haar adoptie door een Amerikaans echtpaar en ondanks racisme en vooroordelen zich als Michaela DePrince een plaats in de balletwereld verovert.