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Drina #2

Drina's Dancing Year

jean estoril mabel esther allan

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Drina and her new friend Rose successfully audition for the Dominick School in London, and thus begin their first year of proper ballet training.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1958
Series
Drina
Places
london england, england, 

This edition

Format
176 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 1995 by Hodder
ISBN
9780750012614
ASIN
0750012617
Language
English
Characters More characters

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About the author

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jean estoril

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A pseudonym of Mabel Esther Allan.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 22 votes)
5 stars
9(41%)
4 stars
7(32%)
3 stars
6(27%)
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22 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Yatta-Sandy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Ich hatte als Kind auch eine Ballettphase, wenn auch nur über Bücher ;) die Cindy-Bücher fand ich damals alle super und hab mir eines nach dem anderen von der Omi schenken lassen oder selbst vom Taschengeld gekauft. Ich fand auch alle Cover so toll, ich hab die immer bewundert.

Gerade habe ich gesehen, dass sie im Englischen "Drina" heisst ... wer kommt bitteschön auf die Idee, jemand von Drina nach Cindy zu übersetzen für den deutschen Buchmarkt? Wieso nicht gleich Steffi oder Lisa? ^^
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HuTao_88
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This is the second book in the children's series about Drina, a young ballet dancer. I picked it up at the Thrift store recently; on reading, I realised that I had read the first book many years ago.

In this book, Drina finally gets her dream, when she is accepted into a full-time ballet school in London. There she makes some good friends and also attracts some negative attention from people who are envious of her talent. Her mother was a famous ballerina, but Drina is determined not to let anyone know because she wants to know if she can succeed on her own.

There are some fairly typical school story anecdotes, some proud achievements, and warnings from Drina's grandparents who would really prefer her not to be a dancer. The book feels rather dated, which is not surprising as it was first published in 1958. I don't know if today's children would find this interesting - the content is appropriate for girls of about 8-11, so perhaps it would find favour with those who are keen on ballet.

Not a bad book, but nothing special. I don't think it's as good as the ballet stories by Noel Streatfeild; more on a par with the later ones by Lorna Hill.
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Sam_Mac
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Drina begins studying at the Dominick School and also has a part in a small play.
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sudaykis
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Hyvä kirja lukujumituksen poistamiseen. Hupaisa ja höpö, mutta viihdyttävä.
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schimdth
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Read this series in JR High and simply LOVED them! I need to track these down.....
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froody1911
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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While the first book Ballet for Drina stands on its own as a complete story, its primary purpose is to provide the necessary background information to set up the rest of the series. Drina’s Dancing Year continues this format: it tells the story of Drina’s first year at the Dominick ballet school and of her determination to succeed on her own merit rather than revealing her secret, but it is also an important part in the overall arch of Drina’s journey towards becoming (as I assume she inevitably will, these being happy children’s books) a world class ballerina. This book covers Drina starting at school, making friends with the poor but sweet Rose and enemies with proud, odious Queenie, and also Drina’s inexplicable failure to get a part in the Christmas show, which turns out to be less disappointing than she fears.

I was surprised at how well this book stood up to being reread. Although some of the concerns and attitudes can seem a little old fashioned, Mrs Chester liking Rose in spite of her lower class stands out particularly) the story itself remains charming and engaging. I found myself getting wrapped up in the little dramas of Drina’s life in spite of the outcome being obvious even if I hadn’t read the book before.

I think that Drina ages convincingly; this book shows her character developing in a way that is in line with a little girl who is one year older and a little more experienced. She doesn’t change, but her traits become more subtle and I liked this. The supporting characters continue to be likeable and just different enough to give them some interest, even if this is only in relation to Drina. Estoril’s mean characters are all very similar, but they aren’t the focus of any of the books so far so this is less annoying than it could be.

The Drina books are a lovely series, and I continue to recommend them to anyone who enjoys old fashioned ballet stories.
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Guiz6
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I thought I also had the first one in this series, but I don't know where that might be. This is a good chapter book for little girls who like ballet.
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