Enjoyed reading this with my 10-year-old daughter. It is an interesting and poignant story, and has more depth to it than I would have guessed. This is the third book of this shoes series that she has read, and she has enjoyed them all!

Dancing Shoes doesn't dance to the same tune as Ballet Shoes and Theater Shoes, though there are plenty of similarities. The difference in this one is the adults. Only a few are truly sympathetic to the children, and none of them have a comprehensive grasp of the girls. Dancing Shoes has its moments of humor and fun, its satisfying comeuppances and opportunities, but overall it has a more frustrating tone than Streatfeild's other books. This is largely due to Cora Wintle, who would have become the biggest meme on Dance Moms. Dulcie is an extremely realistic character, though she is also a pure work of fiction; I'm continually surprised that her father never seems to parent her, though he does so much for Rachel. Cora is a steamroller, but she is entertaining.

While reading Dancing Shoes I was struck that Streatfeild's children's books take place in the world Julie Andrews grew up in. Her memoirs of growing up onstage and in vaudeville remind me of Streatfeild's world of children in theater. It added another level of interest in re-reading the series.

Wintle's Wonders would have been a much better title for this book, but I think Ballet Shoes, Theater Shoes, and Dancing Shoes make an excellent trio. The other Shoe book I've read was not really in the same world and should have retained their original names. If there's not a scene where children go to the London County Council to get a license, it's not a Shoe book, in my humble opinion.

Cora Wintle runs a dance school, Wintle's Little Wonders; she brings her orphaned niece and her adopted sister to live with them and to become part of her dance troupe. Cora's daughter is the star, as far as she's concerned, and she discourages any interference with her plans; but her niece and her sister outshine Dulcie in different ways.

Delightful.

Rachel Lennox's mother and father adopted Hilary after Hilary's parents were killed in a hurricane. When Mrs Lennox died her will stated that Hilary be trained as a dancer. Rachel's aunt ran a school for dancers who appeared in different productions. She wanted to take in Rachel but had to take both children into her home. Hilary liked dancing of any kind and wanted to become a [art of Wintle's Little Wonders Dance Troup. Rachel wanted Hilary to become a ballerina and then become a member of the Royal Ballet but Hilary did not want to do this. It turned out that Hilary was a better actor than Dulcie Wintle and Cora Wintle did not like that She wanted to send her sister to ballet school but her sister liked being a member of a troup.
This book was chosen for What's in a Name Challenge. I enjoyed reading it because I had taken ballet and tap classes when I was younger and have performed on stage in ballets.

Rachel Lennox is happy living in the English countryside with her mother and adopted sister Hilary. The family is poor but Hilary is a superb dancer and expected to attend the Royal Ballet School and become a star. Rachel's mother dies after a terrible accident, leaving Rachel and Hilary to the care of Rachel's uncle and his wife, Aunt Cora, who runs a dancing school for Mrs. Wintle's Little Wonders. Mrs. Wintle is eager to add Hilary to her troupe but does not expect the girl to upstage her own darling daughter. Rachel is dismayed to learn that the Little Wonders focus more on tap and acrobatics than ballet and pushes Hilary to train ballet so she can fulfill Rachel's mother's dream of Hilary becoming a ballerina with the Royal Ballet. Hilary is lazy and prefers acrobatics to ballet and dreams of becoming a Little Wonder. Rachel hates to dance and feels life as a Little Wonder would be unbearable. Rachel bonds with her teacher, Mrs. Storm, who gives Rachel elocution lessons and sees in the girl promise of something special that Mrs. Wintle can not see. Rachel and Hilary also have to deal with their spoiled cousin Dulcie, who is on her way to stardom. As they grow older, Rachel becomes more despondent and Hilary happier. Finally, they each discover their true places in the theater world and learn to accept each other's decisions.

The plot is very similar to Theatre Shoes but not as well done. I felt sorry for Rachel but didn't find her very interesting. Hilary wasn't very likeable either because she was silly and lazy. Dulcie is the typical spoiled girl with a stage mother and the story was pretty predictable. This is not my favorite installment of the series.

I guess it's been nearly 40 years since I first read this book. It is interesting to realize how deeply it lodged in my memory, as if the events in it had happened to me and the people in it were real people in my life. I wondered if I would like it as much as I did back then and I liked it even more. Noel Streatfeild is brilliant with her understanding of how different each kid—and adult—is and what motivates them and how they understand or misunderstand each other.

this was my absolute favorite book as a kid. i probably read it twenty times, no exaggerations. i promise. my decimated paperback copy of the book stands as proof.

the story is delightful, i related to each of the characters (in an often overly specific way) which made them even more endearing to my nine year old heart. i regarded this book as truly magical… a masterpiece.

the dancing, the theatre, the rivalry, the sisters relationships, the competition?! *chefs kiss

i would gladly re-read this book any day. just thinking about it makes me feel nostalgic. but as i’m not one to be overly sentimental, i’ll just leave it at that. if you’re looking for a light, sweet book to read during springtime, you need to read this book!

I am a huge fan of ‘You’ve Got Mail’, so of course I had to read it. I loved it, but all the ‘show’ books are kind of similar. So once you read one, the rest become a bit repetitive. I read it to my daughter when she was about 7-8 years old and it was great read.

I have been poorly this week so had to re-read this book last night in one sitting. I love it as much as I did when I first read it aged 13.

Rachel and her adopted sister Hilary Lennox go and live with their uncle Tom and Aunt Cora in London when their mother dies. But Hilary was meant to audition for the Royal Ballet School and Rachel is determined that she will make sure Hilary achieves greatness as a ballerina. Meanwhile, Aunt Cora runs a dance/stage school called Wintle's Little Wonders and is determined to train her two nieces so they can earn their keep once they are 12. Hilary is delighted as she loves dancing and actually enjoyed tap and gymnastics more than ballet but Rachel is horrified. She has never danced before and how will Hilary ever achieve being a proper ballerina if she is doing the wrong dance style?

I love this book. Rachel and Hilary are like chalk and cheese in lots of ways but they still love eachother even though they change and develop from moving in with the aunt and uncle. Aunt Cora is pretty self-centred and I still grimace at how awful she is towards Rachel. Her daughter Dulcie is a spoiled brat who is also very talented. Streatfeild does a great job of showing how success doesn't always last and that pride comes before a fall. I loved all the characters but especially loved Rachel, Hilary, Mrs Storm and Pursey. The only vague criticism is that I wanted more about Rachel at the end.

One of Streatfeild's finest with a great cast of characters. she explores many morals but the one that stood out for me is to never underestimate anyone and that we all have different talents.

This wasn't as good as her other books, mostly because the adults were more horrid than usual. It was still a nice little book that works as a palate cleanser for some of the other crazy books I've read.

This might be my favorite yet. Absolutely gorgeous. I related so much to Rachel and all her stress, and Hillary was stressful but delightful. I'm so addicted to Noel Streatfeild's books, I don't want to read anything else until I've read all of hers.