Ezarah and Elyse: Starlit Ballet

At bedtime, twin toddlers find themselves dreaming of dancing among the stars together in Neely’s picture book.

Ezarah and Elyse are twin sisters with brown skin and dark curly hair. The sisters have distinct personalities—Ezarah is fearless and Elyse is a bit less bold—but their bond is fierce, which is evident when they’re put into different cribs to sleep. The separated twins are upset and find sleep hard to come by until Elyse suggests that Ezarah climb into her crib to sleep. (“Ezarah agrees with a warm, sleepy smile, / Together they’ll dream in the sweetest twin style.”) A spectacular, dreamy sequence features the twins dancing together; it almost feels interactive, making readers feel as if they, too, are floating among the stars. The next morning, the twins’ mother finds them contently sleeping side by side, and she vows to buy them a bed to sleep in together. Neely’s text is short and sweet, lyrical and gentle, but the star of this picture book is, fittingly, the pictures; Pham’s illustrations elevate the narrative, making it seem dreamlike with a soft palette of gentle pastels and dusky blues. Pham has a gift for evoking emotions through details, especially the girls’ wide, expressive eyes. This is more than a bedtime story—it’s a visual poem celebrating love, imagination, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood. It’s also an instant classic fit for any picture-book shelf.

A beautifully written book that finds its real emotion in its lovely illustrations.