Jessie Garrett's come a long way in ballet, only to come to a screeching halt. Just three weeks before her big stage debut in her school's recital of Swan Lake, Jessie and her ballet friends hang up their toe shoes when they find out their dance studio has suddenly closed after a fire in the building. They turn to their teacher, who doesn't have a new studio for them to rehearse in. It's all up to the girls to figure out where to hold class, or else there won't be a recital. To make matters worse, Jessie's apartment building is condemned, and Jessie is left without a home or ballet class, which has become her home away from home. Just when she thinks there's nowhere to turn, Bianca steps in and fixes both problems by pledging to find a new studio, and opening her home to Jessie. But can Bianca build a new studio in time for the recital, and how does down-to-earth Jessie fit in living in Bianca's ritzy mansion?

Reading level: ages 9 to 12...

The curtain's rising, but who will be standing on center stage as the lead in the big recital? Will it be Bianca, who's been the lead in every recital her whole life? Or will it be Jessie, the gifted newcomer who was dribbling basketballs just a few weeks ago? It's all up to Madame Schumann, who shocks everyone when she announces the cast of Swan Lake. In this exciting recital book, best friends turn into enemies, and no one knows how it will turn out until the curtain rises. For the first time, meet the families of the ballet friends, and find out what happens when Bianca's grandfather hires a Hollywood movie director to film the big recital! But will Bianca be the star of the show, or will Margo's determined stage mom steal the lead for Margo and impress all the ballet school recruiters in the audience? Who will be on center stage, and who will get discovered? It's all in #5 Waiting in the Wings.

Reading level: ages 9 to 12...