This was a pretty good book. It wasn't super outstanding for me personally, but I think it was just a rare case where I didn't enjoy it as much because I wasn't the target audience. (I read middle grade books fairly regularly and enjoy them as much as YA.) It's still a fun, timeless story that I think a lot of kids would definitely enjoy, and, as a dancer, I really liked the ballet elements! I probably enjoyed it a bit more the first time around, but it was still fun. Definitely going on my list of books for my MG aged book devouring brothers. XD I'd recommend it for ages 8 & up.

This was the second book in the ‘Shoes’ series I’ve read and found it quite enjoyable in most parts. I loved the references to the Fossil sisters from Ballet Shoes and found that a nice touch. That said, I did find parts of it slightly annoying but I’m sure I would have had a different opinion reading it as a 10 year old child, rather than an adult!

My favorite part of this one, the thing that's stuck with me through the years is when Sorrel and her teacher are talking about Miranda's acting and her teacher says, "But you wouldn't want to be the kind of actress anyway." That is such a valuable lesson. That realization that you don't quite want exactly what the person you've been slightly jealous of has.

One thing that struck me this time is how great Streatfeild is at writing kids in that the kids who are kind of jerks remain kind of jerks. I MEAN. Miranda never learns to be a better person. That's not what the story is about.

(I think Dulcie in Dancing Shoes gets there someday, though. That poor kid needs to get away from her mother.)

Booklovers everywhere have all drooled over the little book shop Kathleen Kelly owned in the delightful movie, You've Got Mail. We've relished the thought of working among such an atmosphere of twinkle lights and children's literature. And what a selection she had too. Whoever was in charge of choosing the books to be highlighted in the movie did a pretty top-notch job! Have you read them all? Notable mentions are The Betsy-Tacy books and The Shoe Series.

"Noel Streatfeild wrote Ballet Shoes and Skating Shoes and Theatre Shoes and Dancing Shoes. I’d start with Ballet Shoes first; it’s my favorite. Although Skating Shoes is completely wonderful—but it’s out of print." —Kathleen Kelly, You’ve Got Mail

If you haven't read this fun series, it's about time you did. Ballet Shoes probably should be read first but the stories are all pretty individual, with different characters in each; the only thing linking them are "shoes" and the characters in the first book being referenced once or twice in a couple other titles. So if you or your child has a favorite recreation and there's a shoe for it, you'd be fine just starting with the one you're excited about the most.

Enjoy!

Ages: 8 - 14

Cleanliness: The main characters don't always do what is right, but they do learn from their mistakes and improve their character. The word "Jap" is used to refer to the Japanese. Alcohol is mentioned.

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The premise of Theater Shoes reminds me a little bit of Harry Potter, oddly enough. After their grandfather dies, somebody comes to the the Forbes children and is like, "Guess what? Your grandmother is a famous actress and your uncle is a film star, and you have aunts and uncles and cousins that you never knew existed because your grandmother disowned your mother for eloping." YOU'RE A WIZARD, HARRY.

I thoroughly enjoy this book. It's about discovering talent you never knew you had because nobody ever looked at you and said, "You're good at reciting poetry, you should go on the stage!" It's about finding your tribe, about making the most of every opportunity, even the crappy ones--my favorite part is when Sorrel is dancing in the chorus of lambs at the first concert for the wounded soldiers, and she smiles at a Chinese soldier, who then asks to meet her and gives her a little fish pendant for good luck--and about being the best you that you can be, even when the world is putting pressure on you to be somebody or something else. I also love the sort of meta post-Ballet Shoes world this book is set in, with perfectly in-character letters from Pauline, Petrova and Posy.

This is also the book that taught me what Cockney rhyming slang was, featuring such sentences as "And when it comes to dishing up I never know how to drag my plates of meat up the apples and pears." Alice for the win!

I find it hard to drop a star on a children’s classic but amongst our buddy read group we all concurred- it’s a lovely story but the cockney rhyming slang gets right on your pip!!

February 2018: This is, very quietly, one of Streatfield's strongest works. I really, really like this, from that early moment when the American soldier puts the basket "half on Hannah's knees, and half on the skinny knees of the woman with her rights" - or maybe it's even earlier, from the implicit humor and personality in stressing that Grandfather needed to underline that last animal before he died. And that personality, subtle though it may be, carries through the entire book through Mark's letters from Wilton House to this moment:

Grandmother looked at him a little while in silence. Then her eyes twinkled. "Go to your horrid little boys' school. I've one great comfort, Mark. What an atrocious nuisance you will be to the Royal Navy."

TRUST ME WHEN I TELL YOU HOW HILARIOUSLY PERFECT THIS IS.

July 2015: This is another good one, and it isn't hampered by the constant Fossil mentions. One thing that struck me this reread, particularly reading all the Shoes books out of order, is that there's no clear timeline established for all the talented kids who look up to the Fossils. I'm convinced this is the first one, because it's so clearly a wartime book (its strongest aspect) and I think the novel states that Pauline is only eighteen, which means constant mentions of her aren't completely ridiculous, since she'd been a student at the school so recently.

Madame Fidolia is also recognizably herself here, or at least recognizable as the character who first appears in Ballet Shoes. In Movie Shoes and Traveling Shoes, she's practically a fairy godmother, which doesn't work with her previously-established character. I've decided that Movie Shoes takes place a few years after this book, and that the Miriam name-dropped in it as a talented dancer is this book's Miriam Cohen (a delight, but very much Posy Fossil 2.0; in contrast, Holly is much more unique character) - how many truly promising Miriams can there be at Madame Fidolia's school? And Traveling Shoes must come last; I can't imagine the Forums touring Russia and Japan during World War II. The only question is why Ettie hasn't heard of Sorrel or Miriam, or even Rachel from Movie Shoes.

I shouldn't hold the confusing timeline against this book, though. It's charming.

This is my favorite of the Shoes books, probably because I read it over and over when I was a kid. While reading this copy, however, I was somewhat dismayed to realize that the copy I had was either edited down to make it shorter, or to make it more comprehensible to 1980s American children. Meaning I read an abridged version--the horror! It was both nice to read all the missing parts and very odd, because the book seemed clunkier and like it dragged more with all the extraneous detail added.

Anyway, I'm giving it five stars anyway because it is a fantastic description of Blitz-era London from a child's point of view (that, and nostalgia. And it's charming). My mother grew up in the UK post WW2 and this book really made me realize what an affect rationing, coupons, blackouts, and the like had on the population. I love love love all the theatrical details and the competitive nature of the relationship between Miranda and Sorrel, and I like all the secondary and tertiary characters a great deal. Upon re-reading, though, I think the grandmother should have been ashamed of how her grandchildren were treated, and I wish the aunts and uncles had taken slightly more interest in their welfare.

Listening to the audio in June 2021 because I can’t remember the story at all! Also, I just finished Noel Streatfeild’s “On Tour: An Autobiographical Novel of the 20s”, so it is fun to see the theatre parallels between Noel’s own life and this book. “On Tour” was fascinating. Noel’s writing isn’t as poetic or epic as Narnia or Elizabeth Goudge’s children’s stories, but her characters are so engaging and there is a thread of goodness in the stories that I find delightful and that make her one of my favorite children’s authors (albeit one I discovered as an adult!).

This story of three children who are at the moment without both parents is the most reminiscent of Shoes, #1 and also fittingly has the strongest connection to the Fossil girls. I don't want to give any spoilers, but this one is especially fitting for the Christmas season. Theater lovers will most definitely feel at home in this book and it would make a delightful read aloud for a middle grade classroom. Sure it is old-fashioned, but there are enduring ideals that stand the test of time. Really, really loved it!

Theater Shoes wasn't my favorite of Streatfeild's when I read them as a child. There is a darker tone to the story, as it takes place during WWII while the children's father is missing in action. As an adult, however, I grew in appreciation of the Forbes children, their honesty and resilience, and their love for one another. The Fossils from Ballet Shoes are in the background, but the Forbes are not just the Fossils by another name. They speak up for each other more than the Fossils did (each girl tended to speak up for herself) and experience different hardships.

Streatfeild is a wizard at setting a scene during the children's hard conversations among themselves. Instead of using conversation tags, she describes their movements, communicating their feelings of anxiety, hope, and frustration more clearly. I also love the glimpse we get into wartime theater through the Warren family, and the character of Uncle Francis (though annoying) is so perfectly drawn. Only a theater world insider could have written such a book, and I love that Streatfeild made this world real to her readers. She does nasty characters as well as kind characters, which makes both more satisfying.

Reread this with my daughter. That Marc character is really captivating.