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Jessica was born and raised in New York City and, fun fact, she made her professional debut on ABC’s One Life to Live as “Baby Jessica.” Jessica was a serious ballet student growing up and trained at the Manhattan Youth Ballet and Ballet Academy East. She attended The Boston Conservatory and received a B.F.A. in Dance. Since graduating college, Jessica performed as a dancer in many musicals around the country. While performing, she began teaching dance to children and has continued to teach for the past thirteen years. When she is not teaching, she is writing books for children. Paws Elementary is her picture book debut.
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite
Jack Follows His Heart by Jessica Azenberg is a children's picture book. Jack is so excited when his friends take him to their ballet class, but he doesn’t realize how hard it will be. When he struggles on the first day, he leaves the class and goes home downhearted and sad. But his dads boost him up and encourage him to continue following his dream, and his determination to succeed will help him. Will Jack ever be good enough at ballet to take part in the show?
Jack Follows His Heart by Jessica Azenberg is a fun book with stunning illustrations by Li Liu. The story is written in lilting rhyme, making it flow very well and easier for kids to read and enjoy. While it is a lovely story, it also has a serious message for kids: following their dreams and achieving things is only possible with practice, hard work, and sheer determination. This is a story of building the confidence to do things that seem impossible and persevering to win. Part of the Paws Elementary series, this book has some lovely animal characters that many children will be able to relate to, all with human traits and characters that kids can identify in themselves and others. Overall, this is a captivating tale that kids will love to read over and over again, and, with time, even younger children will understand the messages in the story. This is an enriching, heartwarming tale that should be on every child’s reading wish list.
