I didn't really dislike this book, but it definitely isn't one of my favorite children's books. I think my favorite thing about this book is how distinct and diverse the three girls' personalities are. Petrova was my favorite, because she was more down-to-earth than her sisters, and pursued interests unusual for a girl of the time. Posy was probably my least favorite of the sisters. She wasn't as well-developed a character, and toward the end of the book I found her pretty annoying.

My biggest complaint about this book is probably how the plot was so repetitive, and became confusing sometimes because the passage of time wasn't conveyed well. You could be reading a paragraph, and start on the next one only to find that the girls had aged a year or two within a single chapter. Also, the writing is a bit wordy, especially in the several confusing arguments about money. They kept going on about how much money would go into savings, be used to buy clothes, etc. This might be okay if these details had any real importance to the plot, but they really don't. I also felt that the ending was handled in a very anticlimactic way. The girls didn't really seem surprised or excited when Gum finally came home, which struck me as odd.

This was a nice enough story, but it felt sort of flat and dull to me, so I probably wouldn't reread it. I must say, however, that "Fossil" is a pretty cool last name!

Why did I wait so long to read this? I love this

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 reader might accuse the book of containing certain tropes that have become so common as to be considered cliche these days: The plucky British orphans; the valiantly struggling relation; the general bonhomie of the outside world, which makes everything somehow bearable; the happy ending.... Yet note that I've awarded this an unequivocal 5 stars. That's because, sugary it may be (and is) but darn it, there are just some days when you're in the mood for sugar. And plucky British orphans. And happy endings. And if you happen to be in such a mood on the day you read this book (or listen to the audiobook version, as I did,) then you're in for a five-star treat.

Makes you believe the world is jolly good at that, old chum. Pour me another cup of tea.

I found this story quite dull. Not much is happening expect they go to different classes and get more and more successful in their way. That the children could start earning money with 12 years then is crazy. I don't know if I would have liked it more in book form (and unabridged) - now I realise I've seen the adaption with Emma Watson many years ago - checking imdb... 6/10 - well probably the story can't hold my attention in whatever form.

I picked this up because it was my partner’s favourite book as a child, and I can see why.

It’s a very sweet tale. Not enough drama, tension and danger for my past and younger self, but a sweet and uplifting book, that I think many children would still appreciate these days.

Definitely a book for younger readers and an uplifting one at that.

Ballet Shoes was one of my all-time favorites as a child. My library had the book on audio and I listened to it on my little boom box constantly. I can’t express how burned into my brain is: Children’s Acad | emy of Dancing an | d Stage Training. I studied classical ballet as a child and teen and Ballet Shoes inspired me--I remember going to see the film with my classmates and teachers. Re-reading this book brought back all those special memories, and remembering how much of an impact my teachers had on my life, interests, and personality, though I don’t dance anymore.

The world of Ballet Shoes is cozy and kind, and even though it’s a bit of a horror to think of a twelve-year-old feeling like she needs to meaningfully contribute to household expenses, the girls have a lot of helpful, trustworthy adults to help them along the way. I’m wondering now if the reason Rumer Godden’s A Candle for St Jude fell so flat for me is because I was subconsciously expecting a Streatfeild world. Yet, the ballet in that one is better. In Ballet Shoes there is more of Pauline’s acting than Posy’s dancing. I would love to get a chapter about Posy’s private lessons with Madame.

I loved Streatfeild’s other Shoe books, but nothing beats Pauline, Petrova, and Posy. Petrova gave me a longstanding affection for STEM heroines, though I never relate to them in that interest. Maybe she’s why I love math in novels (yet I stumble in real life, alas). I always found Pauline a bit insufferable, but her character growth is quite nice, and she is much softer than I remembered. Posy is my favorite, of course, though she really got stiffed by the film. Lucy Boynton played her very well, but the ballet is awful and they should have used a double who could actually get over on her box, for the sake of her ankles if nothing else!

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 (n  Theater Shoesn was originally n  Curtain Upn, n  Dancing Shoesn was Wintle's Wonders, n  Skating Shoesn was n  White Bootsn, and so on) - is one that I have long been wanting to read. Thankfully, a book-cub to which I belong chose it for their June book-club selection, giving me that long-needed impetus!

The story of three young orphans - Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil - who are ostensibly adopted by Gum (Great Uncle Matthew), but are really raised by Garnie (Great Uncle Matthew's niece, Sylvia) and their nurse, Nana, Ballet Shoes has been described as one of the earliest "career novels" for children, as it follows its young heroines as they seek to make a living in the arts. Pauline, the eldest, begins working as an actress at age twelve (special license required), and Petrova soon follows. Posy, a dancing prodigy and the youngest, studies with Madame Fidolia, the headmistress of The Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, where all three are pupils. As each of the three struggles to find her calling - Pauline is a talented actress, Petrova quietly longs to escape from the arts, and become a mechanic and aviatrix, and Posy is a born dancer - they also seek to help Garnie with the household finances, and to live up to the secret vow that they regularly renew, to get the Fossil name into history.

I really enjoyed Ballet Shoes, which impressed me with its ability to depict the lure of a career on the stage and in the arts, without succumbing to that lure itself. Most of the acting and ballet stories that I have read for young people are so in love with the world of the stage, and of ballet, that they lack (how to put it...?) perspective. Ballet (or acting) is the best and only thing - it is everything. Here, we see that other callings - such as engineering - are just as fulfilling and important. More! We see an acknowledgment that acting and ballet, in the larger scheme of things, are perhaps not that important. Or, put another way, that they are not the most important thing, historically speaking. I found that very refreshing, and was particularly struck by the fact that Petrova's calling is so mechanical, as this was an era in which girls were not encouraged in that direction.

All in all, a most entertaining tale, one that won me over with its engaging true-to-life characters (Posy was such a brat, but without being a monster), its satisfying blend of "making it big" and "keeping one's feet on the ground" (the girls are successful, but still have to worry about money) and its progressive view of the opportunities open (or that should be open) to girls. Somehow, despite my interest in it, Ballet Shoes had always seemed like one of those intensely "girly" books to me: you know, the pastel ones. But although it is very much a book with girl appeal, it is really an orphan tale, a career novel and a family story, all wrapped in one. I'm glad that I have finally read it!

És la novel·la preferida de la protagonista d'una de les meves pel·lis preferides (You've got mail) i l'havia de llegir: malgrat que el context és força antic i és força dickensiana (orfes, pobresa, tos ferina) és super maca i tendra!!!

5 Words: Classic, Christmas, talent, family, dance.

This is one of my FAVOURITE books ever. I read it year on year, often more than once, and I never get bored. How could I?

Ballet Shoes follows the Fossil sisters and their journey through life as they try to get their name into the history books because of who they are.

It's a book that always makes me smile, that could cheer me up on the most miserable of days. And it has this kick-ass thread of girl-power throughout, a discreet hint of feminism that makes you root for Petrova.

And this edition? It's gorgeous. I think I have about 5 copies of this book and this one is by far the most beautiful. And Christmas-sy.

I read this book as a buddy read for our Children’s Classics Club March read.

Pauline, Petrova and Posy were babies when they were ‘collected’ by a man known as Gum. He loved his adventures and brought the girls home with him to live in his house in London. It wasn’t long before Gum left again on one of his adventures leaving the girls with his daughter Sylvia and the no nonsense Nana.

Fast forward and the girls are soon enrolled in a dance academy where they have a very gruelling schedule. The girls all have different dreams and they are all quite determined to live them.

I loved this book and I’m not entirely sure how I didn’t come across it when I was a child. I’m so pleased I’ve had the opportunity to read this with a group of lovely ladies, all of whom have enjoyed it too.

A definite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

Super cute! It was nice to read a children's book from the 30's without it being, like, weirdly racist or anything.

An intriguing mix of conservative and sneakily subversive, when it first appeared in 1936 Ballet Shoes was a huge success, department stores like Selfridge’s devoted entire sections to displaying and selling copies. Its publication was perfectly timed to tap into a depression-era craze for ballet and modern dance, fuelled by popular films starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, or featuring Busby Berkeley’s glorious dance sequences. Since then, it’s never been out of print. The title, and numerous fairy-tale qualities, may make this sound potentially fluffy and sentimental. But it’s actually a marvellous recreation of England in the 1930s focusing on the everyday lives of the impoverished middle classes. There are numerous references to Britain’s troubled empire, as well as the aftermath of WW1 and the Russian Revolution glimpsed through encounters with figures linked to the city’s large numbers of Russian refugees. One central character Sylvia’s a prime example of the so-called “surplus women” linked to the losses of the war, while her staff are a Downton-like group of faithful retainers headed up by the resourceful Nana, formerly Sylvia’s childhood nurse. Streatfeild also manages to smuggle in a thinly-veiled storyline that’s attracted a growing queer following. At the centre of the piece is a shabby house in London’s Cromwell Road not far from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It’s overseen by Sylvia supported by Nana, they’re unexpectedly joined by three orphan children collected by Sylvia’s eccentric Great Uncle Matthew on his numerous travels overseas. The girls, Pauline, Posy and Petrova, become the Fossils, named after Matthew’s extensive collection. When Matthew fails to return from an expedition Sylvia, desperate for money, advertises for lodgers and slowly the house becomes a community along the lines of Armistead Maupin’s famous “logical family”.

The main plot follows the three children as they try to find ways to earn money and help Sylvia with her dwindling finances. They’re supported in their efforts by Sylvia’s tenants including retired, female academics Dr Jakes and Dr Smith, affectionately-drawn bluestockings. Although it’s never explicitly stated, it’s glaringly obvious Dr Jakes and Dr Smith are a couple, backed up by the book’s original illustrations featuring them together, Dr Jakes sporting a hairstyle and outfit that perfectly imitates popular portraits of Radclyffe Hall. It’s not clear what’s behind Streatfeild’s inclusion of Jakes and Smith, although she was a huge fan of The Well of Loneliness. But Streatfeild’s sexuality has been a subject for speculation for some time. She’s frequently coded as “flamboyant and eccentric”, while a wealth of biographical material suggests her most intense relationships were with women. Other aspects of the story are less ambiguously autobiographical, directly building on Streatfeild’s earlier acting career. Through happenstance, Pauline, Posy and Petrova enrol at a school for drama and dance, it’s quickly clear that Posy’s destined for a career in ballet and Pauline the stage, while Petrova who’s far more interested in cars and planes, dreams of a future as a pilot. Although there’s a definite fantasy element to their stories, Streatfeild grounds the Fossils in reality, providing a blow-by-blow account of the experiences of aspiring child actors, as well as the burden placed on girls and women striving to make a name for themselves independent of traditional patriarchal structures. It’s a great story, there are some grating references but there’s also a strong feminist slant - although reading it as an adult meant I was no longer bound up in daydreams involving a future as a ballerina and far more interested in what Streatfeild reveals about English culture and society. My edition was a vintage Puffin paperback illustrated by Ruth Gervis who was also Streatfeild's sister.