Author: Baryshnikov, Mikhail,
Illustrator: Radunsky, Vladimir
Title: Because.
Publisher: Atheneum Books For Young Readers, 2007
ISBN: 9780689875823

Each time a young boy witnesses his grandmother’s wacky antics, he asks “Why?” The answer to this question remains a mystery throughout the course of a week, during which grandma leapfrogs, breakdances, spins, gallops and flies. At the end of the week, the secret is revealed at last, when grandma says, “I-am-a-dancer”. She does these things because she simply must; it is who she is and she makes no apologies about it.

Mikhail Baryshnikov wrote the book to encourage young children to reveal their talents to the world without being afraid of ridicule. He believes that if everyone lived this way the world will be a better place- and much more fun. Certainly he has has made a name for himself and brought joy to many by sharing his own talents. Besides being a world-famous ballet dancer (perhaps the best-known male dancer in the world), he is a renaissance man, with writer being the newest addition to his list of accomplishments.

Vladimir Radunsky- recipient of the 2004 NY Times Best Illustrator Illustrated Book of the Year Award- illustrates with sweeping, colorful images that flow throughout each page.

Watch Baryshnikov in White Nights: