I love this book so much. I was afraid that revisiting it as an adult would lose some of the sparkle, but no, I remember being the child that I was when I first read this book (and then reread it and reread it and...). A Midsummer Night's Dream was my first ever Shakespeare because I read this book so much I wanted to read anything related to it. I memorized bits of that play, and bits from this book, because I mentally existed in this story. I wanted a pair of overalls because of Petrova. This was baby's first found family (literally, haha).

It's just such a gloriously lovely book, and I almost cried a few times rereading it because it's so beautiful. I can't believe I haven't come back to this sooner.

Such a sweet, cozy book! If you didn't have a chance to love this book in your childhood, be sure to check it out now. Especially if you ever dreamed of becoming a ballerina!

Té la mateixa vibe que les sagues sobre internats de l’Enid Blyton que m’encantaven amb 10 anys!!! I l’he devorat

Every child should have the joy of reading this book. I am so sad that most of her books are out of print and very difficult to find. I'm very glad that this one and a couple others are available. This book is charming and wholesome and funny and full of good lessons for young children. I would buy every single Streatfeild Book that came into print. And I would buy multiple copies so that my children could have their own sets.

The first time I had heard of this book was in the movie "You've Got Mail". When I discovered it was real, I had decided I'd look for it to read. A few years went by and I had forgotten about the book until friends of mine read it and gave it rather good ratings, so I added the book to my wishlist. Recently, I had just finished reading Little By Little in which the author mentions having read the book and how it influenced her. This time, I researched the library's catalog and discovered they had it.

I'm glad I gave the book a chance. It was charming and a pleasant surprise. This was originally written in the 1930's and felt relevant for today's youth. There are scenes to make you laugh and scenes that make your heart ache, as we follow the lives of 3 girls from infancy into their teens.

“Sweet and cakey” - something I think we all need in our lives every now and then. Ballet Shoes is an all time classic.

I heartily recommend this for little girls of reading age, especially those who like dance. There are numerous other books...Theater Shoes, Dancing shoes, Skating shoes, and more. Read Ballet before Theater. Enjoy with your girls.....This is the books that Meg Ryan mentions in the movie "You've Got Mail"

When I was in my first grade, a teacher took our class to the children's library next to school to be registered. I couldn't believe so many books could exist in just one place. After 2-3 years it turned out that this was not enough, so I got my card in the adults' library next to mine and, unfortunately, my old librarian got offended.

This teacher discovered a totally new world to me. I would be before the doors at 8 am waiting for it to open at 9 or wait for about 2 hours and find out it was Sunday, and they didn't work. I didn't even reach the return dates, and librarians were always trying to give me 3-4 instead of 1 or 2 books. They were just fetching my card without asking my details. They were even letting me dig the closed sections as they shortly got lack of any suggestions.

And I wish these librarians could recommend me this book when I was little. I wish all the librarians were like Kate from You've Got Mail (well you can't read this book without thinking of her sitting in the Fox bookshop).
Recently I found quite a lot of books I should have read while a teenager or younger. I now have a good collection of "missed" books.

It was just a right book in every way. Right message, right characters, right plot. Everything was perfect. Three sweet sisters and a warm family.


I loved every character, but my favorite was of course Posy.


Some books just create the Christmas mood, even if they are not entirely about Christmas.

And I hope there is at least one librarian somewhere who hands this book to every child she meets and says "you'll love it".

Really enjoyable for theatre geeks and fans of an early twentieth century atmosphere. I liked the theme of ballancing and combining passion and responsibility. It would probably have been even more fun to read this at the right age.

I couldn't even tell you how many times I've read this. I don't remember the first time. My copy has lost its cover, is in the process of losing its back and at some point a mysterious brown liquid invaded pages 1-75. As a person who takes very good care of her books, having one in this condition is a testament of how often it was read.

One of my very favorites.

The technical details in here are amazing, from the uniforms at the school to the licensing to the requirements for the children's paychecks. In a way, I found that stuff more compelling than the actual story, though I liked the sisters Fossil quite a lot. I just felt so bad for Petrova that she was stuck training for something she didn't want, that I buried myself in the details a little to get through.

Looking forward to seeing what the rest of these books hold! (I know they're not actually related stories, don't worry.)

This book is how I learned to imitate the english dialect. We got a two-cassette TB of this (probably not this edition) when my family visited the country in 1990 and I listened to it nonstop for years. My perceptions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, early cinema, and Alice in Wonderland are forever shaped by their depictions in this story. As well as adopted families, dance instruction, and the way to say "citroen cars" in british. My brain is partially wired by this story.