Ballet Shoes

“Making your name worthwhile is a very nice thing to do; it means you must have given distinguished service to your country in some way.” —Noel Streatfeild, Ballet Shoes It all begins with a pair of shoes! Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild (1895-1986), was originally published in 1936, the first of what have become known as the popular “shoe books” she wrote. Streatfeild was surprised by its popularity and said it literally rolled off her pen as she wrote. The first edition of Ballet Shoes was illustrated by the author’s older sister, Ruth Gervis, and has become a timeless classic—a beloved children’s chapter book written for ages 8-12, although enjoyed by all. Two movies were made from Ballet Shoes, one in 1975 and one after the author’s death in 2007. Ballet Shoes is a magical tale of joy and wow. It’s a story about the unique childhood of three orphans, growing up as sisters with different origins, looks, and gifts, who discover how they can contribute to the world. The book is loosely based on the personalities of the author and two of her sisters and contains some serious girl power!! It will make you chuckle and smile, while it’s message is a testament that with enough hard work and determination, even the most impossible dreams can come true! You’ll be thinking about it long after the last page has been turned!! “[Anything) to do with happiness—it means hard work.” —Noel Streatfeild, Ballet Shoes

I bought this for my five year old niece at Xmas, as she gets restless in the car, and I wanted to give her something that would distract her from the damn ipad. This is supposedly a classic (never heard of it, but the reviews were super enthusiastic) I go on vacations with my niece and my sister fairly frequently, involving long car drives. As soon as we started listening to it, I thought it would be over her head. It's pretty sophisticated for a five year old. Lots of semi-complicated plot. However, to my surprise, my niece was into it. She liked having three different girl characters to interest her, she liked their names, and she was interested in their differences. She liked the British accent of the narrator. She asked a lot of questions. I suspect she enjoyed that the girls were under the supervision of a young woman and not a parent, and she was intrigued by the dance angle. So the lesson is, don't underestimate the children in your life. Another plus, it's quite a long story, with a lot of discs, so there's always a new chapter to get interested in. The story is pretty evenly balanced among the girls. I guess adults aren't the best judges. If I had listened to this before listening with my niece, I might have exchanged it, but my niece was immediately taken by it.

A story of hardships and teamwork, this is an excellent story set over a century ago in England yet easily readable today. It will enrich your kids' vocabulary and inspire them to greatness in their own unique gifting and talents.

Great book for tweens

First read this decades ago. When I found it again, I wasn’t sure it would hold up to my memories. But it does! Charming, straightforward story about interesting, non perfect people.

I never saw these books as a child! The series was mentioned in one of my favorite rom-com movies, You've Got Mail, so when I came across them on Amazon I just had to get this first one. I loved it so much I'm ordering the rest, for my own reading pleasure when I need a break from this insane world we're living in!

My granddaughter is 8 and reads above her age group. She loved it

Love, love, love this book. I loved it as a child and passed it on to my daughter who also loved it. I was able to buy a very high quality hardback for her some years ago and I had expected the same quality when I ordered this version for my great niece. It is not that book. The Turtleback School edition uses paper that is of the same grade that would be used in a cheap paperback. Very disappointing.

Un livre qui reste pour un public plutôt jeune mais trés bon livre pour une première lecture en anglais car la lecture reste simple et fluide, de plus le livre n'est pas très long ! j'ai réussi à le lire en une après midi sans sortir une seule fois le dictionnaire.

A lovely, lovely book. Funny, sad, informative - it's got the lot. And a mildly happy ending - one gets the feeling that the end is only the beginning. In fact the Fossil sister make an appearance in a later book of Noel Streatfeild's. I don't know how the training the girls received would stand up to today's stage schools - Pop Idol and X Factor it ain't, but it's a perennial favourite and I won't lend my battered copy to anybody, Now it's on my Kindle so I've got it for good. I read this book when I was 7, and again at 15, and 25, and 30 - and now that I'm 54 (+VAT) I'm reading it again. It's the kind of book you want to curl up with on a wet afternoon, or after a lousy day at work when everything has gone wrong. Pure escapism, and great fun. If you enjoyed it, try White Boots and Wintle's Wonders. Every bit as good.

Tenía curiosidad por este libro, y en particular para una niña de 10 años, después de leer reseñas en inglés muy positivas y después de que se mencionara en la película "Tienes un e-mail" con Tom Hanks y Meg Ryan. Soy bilingüe y lo he leído con interés, pero es bastante antiguo y habla mucho del sistema inglés educativo y en particular de academias de ballet y teatro. A mí que me interesan estas curiosidades, me gustó, pero a mi hija le está costando bastante no porque no tenga el nivel de inglés, sino porque no entiende el contexto y el vocabulario técnico. Respecto al vendedor, sabíamos que era un libro de segunda mano y que nos podía llegar algo gastado y marcado, pero nos ha dado bastante pena que tuviese una marca grande de rotulador precisamente en la portada.

The book was truly amazing. I read the book over and over and enjoyed it more each time, it is also reasonably priced. I'm going to say this is one of my favorite books of all time.

So happy to have found this book which was a childhood favourite. Arrived so promptly - great service.