I like this book even better than Ballet Shoes....

This was one of my favorite series as a child, and, many years later, I still find them delightful. These books tell the stories of orphan girls who discover their gifts in the world, often in theatre and dance. They have different ambitions, and all of that is fine. What matters is what they want to do. They are wonderful reads.

yeah i’ve read the classics

This book was so warm and cozy and darling that reading it was like giving my heart a hug.

Such a sweet, happy read for hard times. A nice break from 2020 stress.

I read this book as an adult, but I have to say I find strong similarties among all of Noel Streatfeild's "dancing" stories. Always the parents disappear due to death or whatever, leaving the children in someone else's care. There's always a responsible sibling who hates dancing herself, but passionately wants her sister to be a ballerina. Always the remarks about "only till I'm fifteen, then I can do something different." And there's always someone who gets attention on stage and lets it go to their head (which happens in real life, too, though not onstage necessarily.) As far as wish-fulfillment fantasy for little girls goes, they're OK; both this one and "Ballet Shoes" were better than "Ballet Shoes for Anna". Believable? Not terribly. But little girls who dream of dancing or acting or singing don't care about that. They want the dream. Reality? Stinks. Reality is homework and little brothers breaking your stuff and being bullied at school. The "Shoe" books are about dreaming.

Rachel and her sister Hilary are left as orphans, and they have to live with their Aunt Cora who runs a dancing school. Hilary likes dancing, but Rachel is terrible at it. Rachel is determined that Hilary ought to learn proper ballet and be admitted to the Royal Ballet School someday, but Hilary just wants to goof around with her friends in tap class. The star of the dancing school is their cousin Dulcie who is spoiled rotten and makes their lives miserable. Rachel wishes that she could convince Hilary to outshine everyone with her ballet skills, maybe then Dulcie would realize that she's not the only star of the show.

I love this sweet story! There are so many layers to the characters, and Rachel is especially complex. She is always misunderstood and pushed into the background because she is quiet and reserved. It's really interesting to see how she interacts with people who take the time to get to know her better, and they discover that she is intelligent and kind and very talented in her own way!

DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!

When 10-year-old Rachel and her adopted sister, Hilary, are suddenly orphaned, they are sent to live with Rachel's Uncle Tom. Aunt Cora runs a dancing school with her partner, Pursey, and expects nothing less than perfection. Cousin Dulcie is a very good dancer -- and she knows it.

Rachel feels turned on her head. Convinced that her mother wanted Hilary to dance in The Royal Ballet School (not that terrible troupe dancing!) and knowing she is no good at dancing herself, Rachel is devastated to learn that they will both be expected to dance with "Mrs. Wintle's Little Wonders". She cannot wait to turn 15, when she will have more control over her life and employment.

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I read this to my children at bedtime, and we all enjoyed it! Due to the setting (early 1900s England), there were several phrases and names for things that we were unfamiliar with, but this didn't hinder our understanding of the story. The fictional girls' interactions and the lessons they each learned provided ample opportunity for discussion and "teaching moments" with my own children.

Themes: "pride goes before the fall"; judging someone on appearance doesn't allow an accurate understanding of a person's character or abilities; grief process after losing a loved one; treating others kindly; developing talents...

Cute read, read with my 9 year old. I liked that it explored character and motivation more than some other children's books.

Didn't like it as much as Ballet shoes.

Zaista ne znam koja od knjiga mi je bolja od koje. Svaka je toliko dobra na svoj nacin i stvarno i kao odrasla osoba sam uzivala citajuci. Plesne cipelice je bila druga knjiga koju sam citala iz ovog serijala i malo je reci da sam bila odusevljena. Potpuno nova, originalna prica puna novih nedaca koje likovi moraju da prevazidju. Ja kao devojcica sam obozavala da citam o naucnoj fantastici, ali ove knjige ne mogu biti dalje od toga a bile su mi jedne od omiljenih, ako ne i omiljene. Secam se da nisam mogla da spustim ni jednu knjigu iz ovog serijala. Sa ove tacke gledista jos jedna knjiga koja u meni budi zelju da usvojim decu, da pruzim ljubav svoj deci koja nemaju roditelje i da pomognem svakom detetu kom mogu. Znam sigurno da ovo nece biti poslednji put da citam ove predivne knjige.