In the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Little Princess come Noel Streatfeild’s tales of triumph. In this story, three...
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Apr 01, 2008
Kristen
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My mother doesn't like to read. She's just not that into it, never has been. I, on the other hand, read every day and have, ever since the age of 6. Imagine my surprise, as a 10 year old, when she gave me a copy of "Ballet Shoes" and told me it was her favorite book as a child. During this time, I was obsessed with C.S. Lewis and reading "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" for what felt like the 40th time. But, still, my mother had given me a book, so, the least I co
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Jun 21, 2011
Abigail
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Originally published in 1936, this first "Shoes" book by acclaimed British children's author Noel Streafeild - the "Shoes" books are less of a series than a collection of wonderful children's novels, some related, some not, many of which were not "shoes" books at all, in their original British forms (Theater Shoes was originally Curtain Up, Dancing Shoes was Wintle's Wonders, Skating Shoes was White Boots, and so on) - is one that I have long been wanting to read. T
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May 17, 2011
Kressel
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The story of Pauline, Petrova, and Posy will be in my heart for life, even though I must confess that was introduced to these charming and unforgettable characters from the 1975 British television version. That kind of ruined me for the book; all I'd do was nosh through my favorite scenes. Only when I was in my 20's did I read it cover to cover when I introduced its pleasures to a girl I was tutoring.
Pauline, Petrova, and Posy are three adopted girls being raised in London in the 1 More...
Pauline, Petrova, and Posy are three adopted girls being raised in London in the 1 More...
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Feb 24, 2008
Calilibrarian
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I had two career goals as a little girl--I would be a ballerina...or a librarian, heh.
Well I started ballet at three and continued through college, but alas never made it to the big stage. I am a librarian though so go figure.
I loved these books so much as a child. All of her series that I read I should say, but especially ballet shoes. This is a fascinating vanished world.
Well I started ballet at three and continued through college, but alas never made it to the big stage. I am a librarian though so go figure.
I loved these books so much as a child. All of her series that I read I should say, but especially ballet shoes. This is a fascinating vanished world.
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Jan 18, 2012
Carre
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Remember the scene in "You've Got Mail" where Colleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) is sitting in the children's section of the newly-opened Foxx Books, and a customer comes in looking for the "Shoes" books by Noel Streatfield? The clerk has clearly never heard of them, but Colleen has, and she tells the customer that "The Ballet Shoes" is definitely the one she should start with...
This is that book.
In the twenty-first century, a particularly cynical read More...
This is that book.
In the twenty-first century, a particularly cynical read More...
Jan 02, 2012
Eloise
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I first read this aged about 6 I think and can still remember the feeling of discovering it for the first time (in reply to comments suggesting it be left for the over-10s: I'd say as with everything, it depends on the child but keen readers will almost certainly want to read it much sooner than that. I kept on re-reading and am still at it; every time I find something new).
I like all Noel Streatfeild's books but this one probably most of all. The grown-up characters in her other books More...
I like all Noel Streatfeild's books but this one probably most of all. The grown-up characters in her other books More...
Dec 12, 2011
Three girls, all orphaned under different circumstances, are adopted by Great Uncle Mathew - "GUM" - who loves to collect fossils. One day, he leaves the children in the care of his great-niece, Sylvia and the nurse, Nana and doesn't return.
Pauline, Petrova and Posy all grow up to be very different little ladies. Pauline is beautiful and loves to act. Petrova likes motor cars and aeroplanes. Posy came to Sylvia with a pair of ballet shoes and was born to dance. All girls vow More...
Pauline, Petrova and Posy all grow up to be very different little ladies. Pauline is beautiful and loves to act. Petrova likes motor cars and aeroplanes. Posy came to Sylvia with a pair of ballet shoes and was born to dance. All girls vow More...
Nov 03, 2010
Connie
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This was one of my favorite books as a child. And I'm not the only one! Apparently, when it first came out, the author couldn't get spare copies because the store she went to had a. put the books in their own special section and b. was restricting purchases to one per customer.
That's just remarkable.
The characters are - although a little overly nice (it isn't until later books (Dancing Shoes, Theater Shoes) that we start seeing a few spoiled rotten children) - mostly realisti More...
That's just remarkable.
The characters are - although a little overly nice (it isn't until later books (Dancing Shoes, Theater Shoes) that we start seeing a few spoiled rotten children) - mostly realisti More...
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Nov 12, 2009
Carin
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I recently re-read this and it was just as fantastic as I remembered, although sadly it did not make me 12 again. When I read this I was very much in the thick of weekly ballet classes which I took for 12+ years, although never under the delusion that I had anything resembling talent. Of course this book is perfect for those girls who do want to be a ballerina or an actress. But I also love how Petrova becomes neither, but instead loves cars and wants to be a pilot - and that's perfectly okay
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Aug 20, 2009
Deirdre
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A long-running favourite of my youth, I was inspired to re-read this when I saw the 2007 BBC version of this I decided to hunt up my copy to re-read. This is the story of three sisters, collected by a fossil hunter (GUM or Great Uncle Matthew) and left with his niece Sylvia (aka Garnie for Guardian) and her Nanny and assorted servants. The three grow up, finding themselves very poor. They take in paying guests to make ends meet and these people help the three girls with their education. One of t
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Jan 25, 2012
Great Uncle Matthew is passionate about collecting fossils and other natural items, and fills his large house with the things he's collected on his travels, including the three abandoned baby girls -each under different circumstances- he brings/sends home on three separate occasions to his niece, Sylvia. When GUM (Great Uncle Matthew) disappears and money gets tight, Sylvia takes in a motley assortment of boarders who all teach the girls something, which allows the three very different but devot
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Nov 20, 2011
Kate
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A fine traditional-feeling children's book with three adopted sisters who help out at home by attending school to be actresses/dancers. I watched the movie first and surprisingly liked it better (even with the addition of an unnecessary adult romance) although I did like the knowing-more that was possible with the book (for instance: why do the "doctors" suggest educating the girls and then they disappear for the rest of the movie? They don't in the book, thus making it clear that th
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Aug 31, 2011
Deborah
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Uncle Gum is an eccentric fossil collector. He takes long trips around the world and bring back little orphan baby girls. Soon he disappears and his niece, Sylvia, and her old nanny, Nana, have to raise the girls on the a limited income. To earn a little money, Sylvia invites boarders to live in their home. One boarder hooks the girls up with the theater and dance school she teaches at. Turns out the oldest, Pauline, is a natural actress; the second oldest Petrova, while not particularly sk
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Oct 19, 2011
Bethany
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Pauline, Petrova, and Posy have chosen their own last name. They are Fossils, because their Great Uncle Matthew (GUM, for short) discovered them and shipped them home as babies, just as he did the fossils he collected. They were each orphaned separately--that is, they're not natural sisters--but now they live in England, in a nice house, with their Guardian, Sylvia, their Nana, and Cook and Clara (the cook and the maid, respectively). GUM goes on a grand adventure not long after baby Posy joi
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Aug 31, 2011
Anna
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Ballet shoes is a lovely tale documenting the lives of three orphans brought to live in London by an eccentric gentleman who leaves the girls to be brought up by his niece, Sylvia .He decides all the children should have names beginning with a ‘P’ and they are named Polly, Petrova and Posy.
The story follows their childhood including the moving in of four lodgers in their house to ease financial difficulties. These lodgers quickly become part of the family, helping the girls both with their More...
The story follows their childhood including the moving in of four lodgers in their house to ease financial difficulties. These lodgers quickly become part of the family, helping the girls both with their More...
Feb 25, 2009
Becca
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This book was cute, fun, nothing poorly written, but nothing terribly exciting, either, though the premise is fun:
Eccentric Gum (which stands for Great Uncle Matthew) has an obsessive need to collect fossils. When his housekeeper and ward tell him there is no more room in his house for fossils, he decides to begin collecting orphans instead, whom he meets while he travels the world. He sends them back to his home in London, which is how we meet Pauline, Petrova and Posy, the three or More...
Eccentric Gum (which stands for Great Uncle Matthew) has an obsessive need to collect fossils. When his housekeeper and ward tell him there is no more room in his house for fossils, he decides to begin collecting orphans instead, whom he meets while he travels the world. He sends them back to his home in London, which is how we meet Pauline, Petrova and Posy, the three or More...
Sep 24, 2011
♥Xeni♥
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Somehow I liked the movie more. Perhaps it was because I saw it first (although years ago) but I think also because it was just easier to understand the story and to laugh at the audacious things that go on.
Thats not to say that this book was bad. Far from it! Had I read this back when I was 10/12 I think it easily could have been up there with favorites such as A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. Right now it was cute and enjoyable but not with much substance. The film would en More...
Thats not to say that this book was bad. Far from it! Had I read this back when I was 10/12 I think it easily could have been up there with favorites such as A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. Right now it was cute and enjoyable but not with much substance. The film would en More...
Aug 12, 2011
Monica!
rated it:
Oh, Ballet Shoes. I’ve been meaning to read it for a million years—pretty much since Meg Ryan started gushing on about the silly thing during You’ve Got Mail, in between receiving bouquets of daisies from Tom Hanks and taking in the wonders of the Information Super Highway—and just got around to it now.
It’s classic, terrifying tale of Gum, the ragged old man who kidnaps babies and deposits them in his vast mansion, where they are subsequently driven (penniless) into the workforce to More...
It’s classic, terrifying tale of Gum, the ragged old man who kidnaps babies and deposits them in his vast mansion, where they are subsequently driven (penniless) into the workforce to More...
Nov 03, 2011
Susan
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I really enjoyed this book when I was in my pre-teen years, when I read it from the girls' perspective - sharing their excitement over Christmas and fantasizing about performing in shows like they did.
When this book came up in one of my friends' "To-Read" list (Thanks, Sara!) I got the idea to read it again from a grown up perspective, and what an eye-opener that was! This time, I could envision the story from the adults' perspectives too, and could recognize the love they More...
When this book came up in one of my friends' "To-Read" list (Thanks, Sara!) I got the idea to read it again from a grown up perspective, and what an eye-opener that was! This time, I could envision the story from the adults' perspectives too, and could recognize the love they More...
Jun 15, 2010
Ashley
rated it:
Streatfeild, Noel. Ballet Shoes. New York: Random House, 2003. Print.
Genre: Children’s Realistic Fiction
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild is a charming fictional story about three orphans in search of their own special talents. The girls, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy learn that in order to fulfill their dreams they will have to dedicate themselves to hard work and extra practice. This story is filled with the hope and determination these three main characters have to reaching their goa More...
Genre: Children’s Realistic Fiction
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild is a charming fictional story about three orphans in search of their own special talents. The girls, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy learn that in order to fulfill their dreams they will have to dedicate themselves to hard work and extra practice. This story is filled with the hope and determination these three main characters have to reaching their goa More...
Nov 21, 2010
Joanna
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I thought it was a very interesting book for the period it was set. However, I preferered the film. This is because the film was modern and it was more understandable. My favourite part of the book was the beginning because you learn about all the characters and the day it was set. The middle part i disliked because it was so predictable and it went on about the same thing all the time. I thought the end could have been improved slightly because it felt like the author didn't really try. It was
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Dec 05, 2011
Mckenna
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Reading Log
Name: McKenna Foulger
Time: 2hrs 30min
Pages: 172-265
Date: Nov 26-2 2011
Book: Ballet Shoes
Pauline is still acting very stubborn. She doesn't like to pick up her stuff or help herself. When she acts it makes it even worst. Pauline plays the Fairy God mother in Cinderella right when she turns 15. She was very honored and happy because it would pay a lot. It also made her feel very important. Many people respected her. While this is happening Pos More...
Name: McKenna Foulger
Time: 2hrs 30min
Pages: 172-265
Date: Nov 26-2 2011
Book: Ballet Shoes
Pauline is still acting very stubborn. She doesn't like to pick up her stuff or help herself. When she acts it makes it even worst. Pauline plays the Fairy God mother in Cinderella right when she turns 15. She was very honored and happy because it would pay a lot. It also made her feel very important. Many people respected her. While this is happening Pos More...
Nov 15, 2008
Maureen
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The first in the long list of Streatfeild books, this is the story of Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil. They weren’t born sisters, but after Gum (Great-Uncle-Matthew) collects them in his travels, they became the Fossil sisters. (Fossil because Gum used to collect fossils before he lost his leg and then he collected them instead.)
The bulk of the book deals with the three girls at Madame Fidolia’s Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. Posy exhibits a remarkable talent for More...
The bulk of the book deals with the three girls at Madame Fidolia’s Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. Posy exhibits a remarkable talent for More...
Jul 07, 2009
Grace
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I picked this book up expecting to read a couple of chapters and get bored.
Boy was I wrong.
This book was almost as enjoyable as my beloved Betsy-Tacy books. They're just so well written! I wish all children's books had this level of quality. They're about as entertaining for adults as children, I think, and written in such a way that children will miss all sorts of little events, (or just won't understand them the way an adult will), while adults will experience the book More...
Boy was I wrong.
This book was almost as enjoyable as my beloved Betsy-Tacy books. They're just so well written! I wish all children's books had this level of quality. They're about as entertaining for adults as children, I think, and written in such a way that children will miss all sorts of little events, (or just won't understand them the way an adult will), while adults will experience the book More...
Feb 23, 2010
Bonnie
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Remember in the movie You've got mail when Meg Ryan's character has lost her book store and she's sitting in the big Fox Books store and a lady comes and asks the young employee about 'shoe' books? These are the books!
Chariming is the word that comes to mind. It's a very simple, soft story, not much plot really to drive you to read, but nice characters that are fun to follow. There is a movie starring Emma Watson from Harry Potter which is what lead me to the book, then when I s More...
Chariming is the word that comes to mind. It's a very simple, soft story, not much plot really to drive you to read, but nice characters that are fun to follow. There is a movie starring Emma Watson from Harry Potter which is what lead me to the book, then when I s More...
Feb 17, 2009
Nikki
rated it:
I read it as a child, I read it to my children, probably more than once. I was pleased to see it on the Guardian's list in the Family and Self section. Three girls from different backgrounds have been adopted by an explorer, who then leaves them in the care of his niece and her old nanny. As funds grow short, they begin taking in boarders and find out about a school they can afford. (The local free school was obviously not even considered!) The school is Madame Fidolia's, an academy for dance an
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Aug 30, 2010
Marisa
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This was the first of the "shoes" books that I read and it hooked me. I have never had any desire to be a ballerina, but this book has it all. Each of the young girls has particular talents and desires and the determination to succeed at whatever they pursue. One of the best elements of these novels is the portrayal of strong family values, even in circumstances like this one where the family is not quite the insular father, mother and children set-up. As one of three sisters mysel
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Oct 17, 2009
Ruby
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I really loved this book. It was heartwarming and all the characters were very, very lovely. I think it is one of my new favourites, even.
However, there just were a couple of reasons why I couldn't give this book five stars. For example, it's one of the themes of the novels that you shouldn't be vain and selfish. But Posy, who appears to be both at the end of the novel, is never really punished (like other characters) for her behaviour, which I thought rather unfair. The ending also More...
However, there just were a couple of reasons why I couldn't give this book five stars. For example, it's one of the themes of the novels that you shouldn't be vain and selfish. But Posy, who appears to be both at the end of the novel, is never really punished (like other characters) for her behaviour, which I thought rather unfair. The ending also More...
Oct 06, 2010
Margaret
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I'm fond of all Noel Streatfeild's books, but this one, being the first I read, has a special place in my heart. It introduces Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil, orphans who are adopted by an eccentric geologist who then disappears for years, leaving the girls in the care of his niece Sylvia and her old nanny, Nana. When the money he left Sylvia runs out, they decide to send the girls to stage school.
The story and characters are lively and memorable, and Streatfeild describes the gi More...
The story and characters are lively and memorable, and Streatfeild describes the gi More...
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May 05, 2011
Shannon
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This is a wonderful story for girls who dream big, proving that hard work and determination can make anything happen. This was my sister's all-time favorite childhood book. I lost track of how many times she read it. Her love for this book caused me to buy a copy for my own daughter when she was born--and I hadn't even read it myself yet!
The three girls are each different and each utterly adorable. I love it that they recognize their own strengths and aren't afraid to reach for their i More...
The three girls are each different and each utterly adorable. I love it that they recognize their own strengths and aren't afraid to reach for their i More...
