As a kid , I really liked Noel Streatfeild's stories. I have always liked historical fiction, it's like getting to travel back in time. And this story was simple and sweet. Except I thought the story about the shop they owned was stupid. Who ever heard of a grocery store with only one supplier?

This is another sweet story in the Shoes collection. Lalla is the daughter of a famous skater who died too soon. Her aunt and guardian insists she will be a world champion skater in his honor (and to the aunt's glory). Hannah is a young girl who has been very ill. Her doctor prescribes skating as a way to strengthen her legs. Most of the story focuses on the friendship developing between the two, but also prevalent is the pressure put on Lalla from her aunt to do something the aunt wants without Lalla ever getting to decide if she wants to do it or not. The other thread running through the story is the differences between Lalla's wealthy but lonely life and Hannah's poor but loving family.

There is a lot of good stuff subtly woven in here. Great for parents and children alike.

This may be another one of my favorites of the Shoes series. Streatfeild doesn't go as hard into the badly behaving child stereotype as she does in Dancing Shoes and ice skating is a nice change of pace for a setting!

This was a childhood favorite, I wanted to be Harriet so badly when I was 10. Then I read Lord of the Rings and wanted to be a Rider of Rohan when I grew up. Sadly neither happened, and don't tell anyone but I've never been ice skating that I can remember.

My mom bought me this when I was about 9, in response to my father gifting me Dracula, Lord of the Rings and Jane Eyre. She thought she could get me to read proper children's books instead of the adult orientated choices my father made. I never told her that I preferred his reading material, it's one of the many regrets I had when she died when I was 21.

Anyway... I'll stop waffling now.

I enjoyed this just as much as when I was a child. The thing that strikes me as odd though, why are Lalla's Aunt Claudia and step-uncle David still married? I laughed at the idea of giving a child whiskey after a faint, it seems so far out of time now.

Noel Streatfeild writes cleverly of the difference in class, the lingering aftermath of WWII and the children are so well developed that they feel like they could be our friends, or the children of friends.

I guess it's pretty clear that I loved this, it was perfect for a wet Sunday afternoon by the fire. I'm going to find my battered copy of Ballet Shoes now and read that.

I loved this book. Despite being a Noel Streatfeild fan as a child I had missed reading White Boots, possibly because I was more into ballet than skating. My copy of White Boots is a lovely 1963 vintage Puffin book. I have recently discovered NS’s adult books but I think I will re-read some of my childhood favourites too now.

This is one of the more dated of the Shoes books, since so much of the narrative revolves around Lalla's struggles to pass various "figures" tests, even though she's very expressive free-skating, while the plodding Harriet (a poor girl who takes up skating for her ill health, and who gets semi-adopted basically as a punching bag for Lalla to be encouraged to apply herself at her studies more) is rather good at them. The "figures" in the pre-television era used to account for much of a skater's score, until the percentage was reduced more and more, until the figures were eliminated entirely in 1990.

The book itself is also a bit dated, with Lalla being the obviously "bad" child who is forced to be a professional long before she should, and who gets her comeuppance (which is quickly resolved) by being more "normal," while Harriet is revealed to have hidden talents. Overall, I think Streatfield was less enthusiastic about the benefits of skating for children versus acting/performing. The real highlight is Harriet's young brother Edward, a minor character who is very obviously flamboyantly gay and entrancing everyone he meets, and a budding performer.

I'm not sure I'd recommend this book to kids. Mainly fun for adults as a period piece, but still has some witty turns of phrase.

I actually found myself getting more involved with this book than I did Streatfeild's other classic children's book BALLET SHOES. I think I enjoyed the rivalry between Lala and Harriet, and was rooting for them to be best friends while also having Harriet find her own voice and sense of self worth. Nobody writes children characters quite like Noel Streatfield or Frances Burgett. They're very real. They're funny and quirky and vulnerable and sometimes really mean to each other, all the while they're always completely empathetic.

I loved Ballet Shoes as a kid and had no idea there was a whole ‘Shoes’ series!

This was a charming story. The pace was a slow and the story simple, but I felt like we really got to know the characters. Streatfield has a way of richly portraying the nuances of human emotion and interaction.

Treca knjiga koju sam imala iz ovog serijala. Idalje se secam kako sam se osecala dok sam ih citala, zaista ne mogu ni da opisem to recima. Divna prica o devojcici koja je bolesna, a koja uspeva da postigne stvari koje nikada nije ni pomislila da je moguce postici u njenom stanju. Prica o prijateljstvu koju sa ove tacke gledista razumem mnogo bolje. Kao devojcica sam bila strasno ljuta na Lajlu jer je bila ljubomorna na Harijetu, ali sada shvatam da je i ona bila samo dete koje je pokusavalo da ispuni ocekivanja okoline. Stvarno predivna prica, i kao sto sam napisala o svakoj knjizi, verovatno, i ova ima posebno mesto u mom srcu kao jedna od mojih omiljenih knjiga.

A great Noel Streatfeild; one of my new favorites!!!!

Ballet Shoes, Dancing Shoes, and Theater Shoes were and actually still are my favorites by Noel S., but I enjoy them all.

Just wholesome and delightful overall. It’s from that era of children’s literature where every story requires at least one childhood illness, but it’s charming, funny, and has age-appropriate interactions and experiences.

I really enjoyed this one, more than the party shoes. It moreover inspires me to go ice skating now! I wonder is it ever too late to learn? Perhaps not any fancy axels and such...anyway, liked this one a lot.