The Best Figure Skater in the Whole Wide World

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Lizzie’s ambition is “to be the best figure skater in the whole wide
world.” She takes skating lessons and practises harder than anyone
else. She’s sure she’ll be chosen to skate one of the principal
parts in her class production of Snow White—maybe even Snow White
herself. Instead, her role is to be a tree. During the performance
Lizzie stands stiffly, as directed, arms held out straight like
branches. At the end of the production she begins to lead the other
trees off the ice as directed. Then, suddenly, Lizzie decides to
bunny-hop down the ice and the other children copy her when she
waltz-jumps and toe-loops in a grand finale of her own devising.

This is a rather disturbing story. The message is that if you don’t
like what you’ve been told to do, you can take matters into your own
hands and do what you like, apparently with impunity. Lizzie tells her
mom that she “couldn’t help it,” and her mother’s response is,
“Lizzie, my love, you were a fabulous tree.” There’s no mention of
the teacher’s reaction.

Alan and Lea Daniel’s eye-catching illustrations draw the reader’s
attention away from the text with their vibrant colors and swirling
action. The fine artwork, however, cannot redeem the moral vacuum at the
heart of this work. There’s not even a hint of unfairness in the
choosing of the children’s roles that would, perhaps, justify
Lizzie’s actions. The book’s frontispiece claims that this is “a
real, everyday story about hoping, dreaming and dealing with
disappointment.” It’s not the way I’d want my child to deal with
disappointment. Not recommended.