Shelly's Book Blog

Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild, is one of a series that includes Dancing Shoes and Theater Shoes. I've wanted to read these books ever since I heard Meg Ryan's character in "You've Got Mail", Kathleen Kennedy, mention them fondly. The "shoe books," as these books are known, were written in the 1930's, so the language and social customs depicted are quite dated. In Ballet Shoes, the main characters are three orphan girls who are adopted by an absent minded professor type of benefactor known as "Gum," which stands for "Great Uncle Matthew." He disappears on a mysterious ocean voyage for the bulk of the book, carelessly leaving the care of the orphans to the women-folk. Very strange.

The story was slow to start and I almost didn't finish Ballet Shoes, but once I got used to the author's style, I did enjoy it. The three orphans, Pauline, Petrovoa, and Posy, are all sent to the "Academy of Dancing and Stage Training" to learn to act, sing, and dance. Later, when they turn twelve, they are allowed to have a license to perform and earn money.

It's interesting that I finally found copies of these books now, so soon after reading The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (see my April 4 post), which is a parody of just this type of story. I'm afraid that while reading Ballet Shoes I was prone to laughing at inappropriate moments, just because I was reminded of Lowry's humor. Nevertheless, I found Ballet Shoes charming in its own, old-fashioned way, and I think many 4th - 5th-grade girls would enjoy reading it and the other "shoe books" as well.