To a small child learning the rudiments of ballet, for whom satin-toe shoes and solo roles remain the future, the road to ballerina status seems long, indeed. Perhaps that's why fantasies involving unlikely amateurs' wild leaps to stardom are so enjoyable for young dancers. Such titles include Robert Kinerk's Clorinda (2003), Daniel Pinkwater's Dancing Larry (2006), and now this slapstick picture book, which makes up in heart for what it lacks in originality. Longing to perform, Josephine the kangaroo secretly watches a  troupe of human professionals in rehearsal, then steps in for the injured prima ballerina and wows the audience with her enthusiastic interpretations. Painting against plain, pale-pink backdrops, Whatley could have taken better advantage of the Australian setting, established in the text through references to various outback creatures; but his spare compositions keep attention squarely on Josephine's leaping, arching body, and on her exuberant pursuit of personal bliss. In-the-know kids will love the cameo appearance by the marsupial star from French and Watley's previous, popular picture book, Diary of a Wombat (2003).--Mattson, Jennifer Copyright 2007 Booklist

PreS-Gr 1-Josephine loves to dance, and, despite the lack of support from other kangaroos, who remind her that she is supposed to hop, she perseveres. She learns how to bow, point her toes, and soar. When a ballet troupe arrives in a nearby town, Josephine spends her time watching and practicing. And when opening night arrives, and the prima ballerina is out with a twisted ankle, she leaps to the rescue. She wins over a skeptical director, cast, and costume designer and shines in her debut. And in the tradition of truly great artistes, her performance inspires others. This is an amusing twist on the age-old story of triumphing over adversity. Josephine follows in the footsteps of the thespians in Amy Young's Belinda the Ballerina (Viking, 2003) and Mary Hoffman's Amazing Grace (Dial, 1991), who, for one reason or another, are told that they are unsuited for the spotlight. Although a dancer at heart, Josephine remains first and foremost a kangaroo (she eats her roses), and the fact that her style has been influenced by the animal world she inhabits is a nice way of showing how art helps us stay true to ourselves. There are no sweeping stages in this book, just individual figures against soft pink pages, helping to focus the story on the characters. Little girls with ballerina dreams of their own will embrace Josephine.-Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The oft-told story of the stage-struck youngster who saves the show when the star is injured returns in this variation that features a ballet-dancing kangaroo named Josephine. She perseveres in the face of a doubting brother named, of course, Joey, and a giggling audience. It's her ability to twirl and leap and point her toes that finally drives them to clap and cheer. She's a graceful if not beautiful ballerina who practiced her art with other Australian animals but yearned for something more than the outback and found it. The author and illustrator have a number of collaborations behind them, most notably Diary of a Wombat (2003). An entertaining read-aloud that shows off an appealing tutu-clad kangaroo leaping across perfectly pink pages as if she were captured in a series of camera clicks. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.