Tutus and leotards, pointe shoes and ribbions, stretching exercises at the barre--these are all familiar images when one is thinking of ballet. But there's much more to this historic dance form than pink tulle. There's hard work with years of study.

Young readers will find themselves pointing their toes, practicing the five positions, and dreaming of being onstage as a sugarplum fairy or a king with a crown.

In 1926, 12-year-old Fu Lee lives with his grandparents in a small village in China. He lives with his grandparents because his parents are dead. It is a difficult life but made easier by the love Lee shares with his grandparents. But now Lee must leave all that he knows. Before his parents died, they spent all of their money buying a "paper son slot" for Lee to go to America. Being a "paper son" means pretending to be the son of a family already in America. If he goes, he will have the chance for a better life. But first he must pass the test at Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco. Only then will he be allowed to live with his new family. If Lee makes even a single mistake, he could be sent back to China. Lee knows his grandparents want a better life for him. He can't let them down.