Dance is for Everyone by Andrea Zuill (Sterling Children's Books)

I do think that crocodiles and alligators get a bit of a raw deal in children's books...
Obviously out in the wild they're rather sneaky predators who love nothing more than a wildebeeste sandwich or two, but the alligator in this story has a dream...

A dream of becoming a prima ballerina.

In "Dance is for Everyone" the aforementioned scaly beast turns up unannounced to Miss Iraina's dance class.

Now, no one's going to argue with a massive snarling alligator so the class grudgingly accept the new pupil into their ranks. Despite sharing no common language, and constant avoidance of that huge swishing tail and those chomping jaws, the pupils and dance teacher come up with an idea - a fabulous showcase of the alligator's substantial talents.

They call her Tanya, and soon they come up with a brilliant dance that will allow Tanya to shine.

She is a superstar! But what happens after her performance? Where has Tanya disappeared to? The answer is rather a delightful surprise we won't spoil for you but it's glorious and funny.

"Dance is for Everyone" by Andrea Zuill is out now, published by Sterling Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).