Ellie in First Position

Ellie In First Position is a hilarious and charming slice-of-life middle grade graphic novel about a ten year old who refuses to give up her dream of learning ballet.

Ellie has just moved to a new town with her mother and brother, and she’s eager to make friends. Unfortunately, everyone at school is into sports, sports, sports. Her mother insists that Ellie take up a sport, too, if she ever wants to fit in. But no matter what she tries—volleyball, tennis, even archery—she makes an utter fool of herself.  Then a night at the ballet and a new boy at school help Ellie discover her true calling: she’s destined to dance! But her mom has other plans. Will Ellie ever find a way to follow her dream?

A page turner, full of relatable conflicts, Ellie in First Position is a humorous, and positive story about resilience, self-love, new experiences, bullying and friendship.

By the end of the book Ellie doesn’t only learn how to dance but she accepts herself, makes new friends, has her first crush, and  manages to deal with her bullies too.

Ellie is First Position is a must for readers who, when they were a bit younger, enjoyed the Amelia Bedelia (Herman Parish) series. Ellie, just like Amelia, is a likable and spunky little girl with a strong personality that gets her into trouble. 
Similarly to the Babysitter Clubs (Gale Galligan and MN Martin) graphic novel version, in Logan Likes Mary, Ellie finds herself having a crush on her new classmate Nick. There are also plenty of awkward situations and challenges in Ellie’s friendships, all written and illustrated in a hilarious way.

ISBN: 9781958325001
Publishing date: October 3rd 2023
Trade Paperback: $13.99 US
Length: 176 pages
Size: 5.5×8.5 inches
Age: 8-12 
Grade: Gr3-6

AUTHOR: Brian Freschi
ILLUSTRATOR: Elena Triolo
TRANSLATOR: Nanette McGuinness

Brian Freschi (1993 Italy) has worked in theatre and the performing arts for many years. He graduated in script writing from the International Comics Academy in Florence. Since 2015 he has been working with the Manticora collective. He has published with several comic book and children’s book publishers, and his books have also been translated and published in several other countries, including in France and the USA. He teaches script writing at TheSign Comics and Arts Academy in Florence and was nominated for the Boscarato Prize in 2020 in the Best Scriptwriter category.

Elena Triolo (1988 Italy) is an illustrator and cartoonist from Tuscany. She works with the biggest publishing houses in Italy and for various brands. She teaches cartoons and illustration to both adults and children. Her two greatest passions are drawing and ballet! Her social media page Carote&Cannella [Cinnamon&Carrots] is very popular. Electra is the first graphic novel jointly created by Brian and Elena.

Award-winning opera singer Nanette McGuinness is the translator of over 90 books and graphic novels for children and adults from French, Italian, German, and Spanish into English, including the much-lovedGeronimo Stilton graphic novels. Her translation ofLuisa: Now and Then  was a 2019 Stonewall Honor Book and a 2020 GLLIYA Translated Honor Book.

“A relatable tale that will ring true with both creative and athletic readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“. . . the illustrations’ exuberant energy and vivid hues, combined with the laugh-out-loud physical comedy from Ellie’s numerous athletic missteps and her dogged determination to be true to herself, results in an impassioned graphic novel from Freschi (The Vertical Sea, for adults) and Triolo.” —Publishers Weekly

“There’s a great balance between emotional scenes and humor, and the main character is not perfect: I love to see Ellie making mistakes only to redeem herself (and sometimes making the world better only with a little doodle). …In this story it is not only the children who make mistakes, I like when we get a glimpse of the adults’ struggles too. I love the design of the pages and how the author and the illustrator complement humor in a panel with amazing characters (and small extras like that pigeon ahaha). …The cover is very simple and sweet, and the interior makes us smile with each page. There will be many readers who relate to Ellie, and older readers who will too (some will look back with nostalgia to those ballet lessons – that continued or not).” —Vanessa Bettencourt (Therearenobadbooks, Goodreads)

“Ellie is such a relatable character, and her struggles will certainly resonate with young readers. I appreciate that this story is presented as a graphic novel, as it is sure to reach a potentially wider audience of fledgling bookworms.” —Andrea Pole (Goodreads)