Contemporaneous Reception
Here you'll discover reviews, excerpts from reviews, and mentions of Ballet Shoes, in chronological order. I think reading them in this way gives a good sense of the popular reception of the book and how that view changed over time.
At the end you will find a bibliography of reviews included here in alphabetical order.
As you read this book you may quite likely think of half a dozen little girls (at least, I did!) to whom you would like to give it. The Fossils are too good for anyone to miss knowing. Pauline is an actress born, and Posy well on the way to becoming a ballerina, while Petrova – well, she likes garages and engines and aeroplanes! The story runs through delightful conversation. Every one seems to talk all the time, stopping just long enough to let us glimpse the appealing line drawings by Ruth Gervis. In Ballet Shoes the child’s London sparkles into life – delight in the moving staircases of the Underground Railways and the dolls’ houses in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Then, in the midst of all the fun, comes the exciting business of starting to earn a living through the portals of the Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, and later rehearsals, plays, films.
Miss Streatfeild has always been fascinated by the lives of stage children, so she has found out all about them and written of them for those who have wondered as she has.
Yates, Elizabeth. “Some English Books of 1936.” The Horn Book 13 (Mar. 1937): 120. Print.
Two large illustrations from Ballet Shoes accompanied this New York Times article; of the four books included, is the first/lead one. A long and detailed summary of the story precedes this conclusion:
a gallant and touching story, but the mass of detail in the latter half of the book disappointingly obscures the original and humorous mood in which the tale was conceived, and reduces the proper development of the girls’ personalities into sketchy outlines. The story will, however, be read with interest by girls from 11 to 14 for its graphic portrayal of the children’s stage world in London. The book itself is extraordinarily attractive in appearance, embellished with Richard Floethe’s characteristic illustrations in pastels and bound in an enticing pink and white print.
Buell, Ellen Lewis. “The New Books for Boys and Girls.” New York Times. 15 Aug. 1937: 88. Print.
The story of Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, who lived in London and studied for careers on the stage. The routine of their days, filled for the most part with study and practice, is balanced by holidays and interesting happenings. Delightfully told; the story will be enjoyed by girls of ten to fourteen. Excellent format and charming illustrations.
Rev. of Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild. Booklist. 1 Sept. 1937: 13. Print.
Very few girls will fail to respond to the charm, humor, and subject matter found in the story of Ballet Shoes. It tells of three small girls who were adopted by an elderly professor and educated for the stage in a London school of dancing. The appeal will be not only in the exciting episodes of auditions and appearances before the footlights, but also in the daily routine at the Academy, the earnestness with which the three contribute their few shillings to the household accounts, and the gradual development of each toward a different goal. This is the author’s first book for children and she has written it with a sound knowledge of children on the English stage. Richard Floethe, who illustrated Street Fair, has done the attractive pastels. For fifth to eighth grades.
O’Gara, Florence. "Recommended Children's Books: Reviews of Juvenile Books by Children's Librarians." Rev. of Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild. Library Journal. 62 (1 Oct. 1937): 745. Print.
O’Gara, Florence. "Recommended Children's Books: Reviews of Juvenile Books by Children's Librarians." Rev. of Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild. Library Journal. 62 (1 Oct. 1937): 745. Print.
An unusual story also of high quality is Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes, a feeling account of three young English girls and their careers. (809)
Smith, Irene. “Autumn Book-Gathering for the Children’s Room.” Library Journal 62 (1 Nov. 1937): 807-9. Print.
Smith, Irene. “Autumn Book-Gathering for the Children’s Room.” Library Journal 62 (1 Nov. 1937): 807-9. Print.
Now, like ragged Dick,* we shall be off to London, to walk the same streets, to gape at the crowds, and to listen to those very bells. Victorian-Edwardian London will give us Sara Crewe, the Bastables (of Blackheath, to be sure), and the Darling children’s Peter Pan. Then there is the London of Christopher Robin and Mary Poppins, and the London of Ballet Shoes and Theatre Shoes (by Noel Streatfeild), and the exciting wonderful London of today. (60)
[*reference is to Marcia Brown’s Dick Whittington and His Cat]
Bodger, Joan H. “A Children’s Literary Tour of Great Britain.” The Horn Book 35 (Feb.1959): 60+. Print.
[*reference is to Marcia Brown’s Dick Whittington and His Cat]
Bodger, Joan H. “A Children’s Literary Tour of Great Britain.” The Horn Book 35 (Feb.1959): 60+. Print.
A good example of a novel in which a secondary character, who happens to be a natural-born and dedicated dancer, provides the dance background for the reader is Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes. In this novel three girls attend a theatrical school as a means of getting out of a financial crisis. Most of the action centers on the youngest of the three, a future Pavlova. This book, a standard in most collections, is a readable period novel, but it contains a minimum of ballet, despite the title. (3119)
Kellman, Amy. “Wallflowers and Winners: A shuffle through children’s dance books.” School Library Journal 98 (Oct. 1973): 3118-3123. Print.
Kellman, Amy. “Wallflowers and Winners: A shuffle through children’s dance books.” School Library Journal 98 (Oct. 1973): 3118-3123. Print.
Everyday life is the focus of the story, and we enter their world through details. We know what the girls wear -- practice clothes, audition clothes, everyday clothes. We know what they eat -- rainy-day teas, sick-day suppers -- and where they take their walks . . . Detail is the key -- clear, precise, essential. It helps create the enjoyable combination of the incredible -- three orphans collected by an old eccentric and left with his young niece in a big old house -- with the concrete. Just as the daily routine is fully described, the characters are thoroughly portrayed. In many ways Ballet Shoes is a celebration of individuality. Each of the three Fossils is distnct, with iher own talents, tastes, and personality . . each one develops differently and discovers what gives her happiness . . .
Although twenty years have passed since I first read Ballet Shoes, the Fossils do not seem to show their age. The author's clean, concise style is lively, and her characters are still believable . . . the Fossils and the adults in their lives are natural, spontaneous, and very much alive . . . The Ballet Shoes performance is a four-star success.
McDonnell, Christine. “A Second Look: Ballet Shoes.” The Horn Book 54 (Apr. 1978): 191-93. Print.
Although twenty years have passed since I first read Ballet Shoes, the Fossils do not seem to show their age. The author's clean, concise style is lively, and her characters are still believable . . . the Fossils and the adults in their lives are natural, spontaneous, and very much alive . . . The Ballet Shoes performance is a four-star success.
McDonnell, Christine. “A Second Look: Ballet Shoes.” The Horn Book 54 (Apr. 1978): 191-93. Print.
With reference to your “Second Look” review of Ballet Shoes: As a child I read and reread Noel Streatfeild’s book and now that I have my own bookshop I am delighted to find that its popularity has in no way diminished over the years. Your readers may be interested to know that the later careers of the Fossil sisters can be traced in a subsequent book, The Painted Garden (Penguin).
Christine McDonnell states in her review that of all the “shoes books” only Ballet Shoes remains in print. In fact White Boots, which is a skating story, is also available in Canada from Penguin and, until very recently, so was Tennis Shoes.
Other popular Streatfeild titles in paperback are The Vicarage Family, When the Sirens Wailed and the Gemma series. I think the appeal of these books lies in the fact that the children in them are so like the children in our own families.
Hilary J. Sircom
The Box of Delights Ltd.
Nova Scotia, Canada
Sircom, Hilary J. “Letter to the Editor.” The Horn Book 54 (May 1978): 347. Print.
[Notes: though under different ownership, The Box of Delights still exists! http://www.boxofdelightsbooks.com/ :) Lovely!)
Also: White Boots = Skating Shoes in the US
The Painted Garden = Movie Shoes in the US]
Christine McDonnell states in her review that of all the “shoes books” only Ballet Shoes remains in print. In fact White Boots, which is a skating story, is also available in Canada from Penguin and, until very recently, so was Tennis Shoes.
Other popular Streatfeild titles in paperback are The Vicarage Family, When the Sirens Wailed and the Gemma series. I think the appeal of these books lies in the fact that the children in them are so like the children in our own families.
Hilary J. Sircom
The Box of Delights Ltd.
Nova Scotia, Canada
Sircom, Hilary J. “Letter to the Editor.” The Horn Book 54 (May 1978): 347. Print.
[Notes: though under different ownership, The Box of Delights still exists! http://www.boxofdelightsbooks.com/ :) Lovely!)
Also: White Boots = Skating Shoes in the US
The Painted Garden = Movie Shoes in the US]
Streatfeild wrote eleven “shoe” books. The series aspect was not necessarily her idea but was, when possible, imposed upon the so-named books from the outside by her American publisher. Random House, who changed the titles to cash in on the enormous popularity of her first book for children, Ballet Shoes (1936). (148)
Streatfeild’s books do not stay long on the shelves of libraries . . . (149)
Kuznets, Lois R. “Family as Formula: Cawelti’s Formulaic Theory and Streatfeild’s ‘Shoe’ Books.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. 9 (Winter 1984-5): 147-9+.
Project Muse. Web. 10 October 2010.
Streatfeild’s books do not stay long on the shelves of libraries . . . (149)
Kuznets, Lois R. “Family as Formula: Cawelti’s Formulaic Theory and Streatfeild’s ‘Shoe’ Books.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. 9 (Winter 1984-5): 147-9+.
Project Muse. Web. 10 October 2010.
(5) Illustrated by Diane Goode. New ed. (1937). Streatfeild’s well-known story of three poor adoptive sisters who are trained as dancers and actresses in order to support the family has not worn well. The details of stage life are interesting, but the background is unbelievable; the tone is pretentious; and the illustrations are jarringly unattractive.
[Note: The Horn Book Guide uses a rating scale of 1-6, with 1 being the highest. A 5 = marginal, seriously flawed, but with some redeeming quality.]
Flowers, Ann A. Rev. of Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild. The Horn Book Guide 3 (July-Dec. 1991): 74. Print.
[Note: The Horn Book Guide uses a rating scale of 1-6, with 1 being the highest. A 5 = marginal, seriously flawed, but with some redeeming quality.]
Flowers, Ann A. Rev. of Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild. The Horn Book Guide 3 (July-Dec. 1991): 74. Print.
I suppose there may be something to be said for giving this splendid classic a new dress for a new generation, but the shiny boards with yellow spine and garish front-cover design do little to make it really attractive, and there is little noticeably modernized (this is, after all, now an historical novel!) about the charming little sketches of the children. The three orphan Fossils, delivered severally by the unworldly travelling Professor Gum or Great Uncle Matthew, to his great-niece Sylvia, who have to be brought up, as it transpires, on a shoestring by herself, Nana, and their lodgers with such a useful variety of skills, achieve every stage-struck reader’s ambition. In their time at the Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, they learn to dance and to act and in Petrova’s case to fly – with unknown parentage, any talent may emerge. The story has lost none of its freshness, while the old-fashioned manners and social phenomena are merely part of the authenticity and charm. Let us hope its new format succeeds in alluring new readers: I would think a chapter or two read aloud might be more efficacious.
H., M. Rev. of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. The Junior Bookshelf. 6 (June 1992): 126. Print.
[Note: This is a British review journal; This review refers to a new edition, but still with illustrations by Ruth Gervis, who illustrated the first British edition in 1936. I was unable to discover who "M.H." was.]
H., M. Rev. of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. The Junior Bookshelf. 6 (June 1992): 126. Print.
[Note: This is a British review journal; This review refers to a new edition, but still with illustrations by Ruth Gervis, who illustrated the first British edition in 1936. I was unable to discover who "M.H." was.]
These are just a few of the many interesting books about children whose lives are changed by discovering a talent or dream.
[Ballet Shoes is included under “Chapter Books” and an illustration by Diane Goode is featured nearby.]
Originally published in 1936, this is the first and most popular of Streatfeild’s fascinating books about children in the performing arts. In this story, three adopted sisters join a school for ballet and theater to help support their family by working on the stage.
Betts, Wendy E. “Something to Love: A Bibliography.” The Five Owls 10 (Mar./Apr. 1996): 75-7. Print.
[Ballet Shoes is included under “Chapter Books” and an illustration by Diane Goode is featured nearby.]
Originally published in 1936, this is the first and most popular of Streatfeild’s fascinating books about children in the performing arts. In this story, three adopted sisters join a school for ballet and theater to help support their family by working on the stage.
Betts, Wendy E. “Something to Love: A Bibliography.” The Five Owls 10 (Mar./Apr. 1996): 75-7. Print.
Reviews Cited (in Alphabetical Order)
Betts, Wendy E. “Something to Love: A Bibliography.” The Five Owls 10 (Mar./Apr. 1996): 75-7. Print.
Bodger, Joan H. “A Children’s Literary Tour of Great Britain.” The Horn Book 35 (Feb.1959): 60+. Print.
Buell, Ellen Lewis. “The New Books for Boys and Girls.” New York Times 15 Aug.1937: 88. Print.
Flowers, Ann A. Rev. of Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild. The Horn Book Guide 3 (July-Dec. 1991): 74. Print.
H., M. Rev. of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. The Junior Bookshelf. 6 (June 1992): 126. Print.
Kellman, Amy. “Wallflowers and Winners: A shuffle through children’s dance books.” School Library Journal 98 (Oct. 1973): 3118-3123. Print.
Kuznets, Lois R. “Family as Formula: Cawelti’s Formulaic Theory and Streatfeild’s ‘Shoe’ Books.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. 9 (Winter 1984-5): 147-9+.
Project Muse. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
McDonnell, Christine. “A Second Look: Ballet Shoes.” The Horn Book 54 (Apr. 1978): 191-93. Print.
O’Gara, Florence. "Recommended Children's Books: Reviews of Juvenile Books by Children's Librarians." Rev. of Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild. Library Journal. 62 (1 Oct. 1937): 745. Print.
Sircom, Hilary J. “Letter to the Editor.” The Horn Book 54 (May 1978): 347. Print.
Smith, Irene. “Autumn Book-Gathering for the Children’s Room.” Library Journal 62 (1 Nov. 1937): 807-809. Print.
Yates, Elizabeth. “Some English Books of 1936.” The Horn Book 13 (Mar. 1937): 120. Print.
