Ballet Shoes (A Puffin Book)

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I first came across this author when Noel Streatfeild was mentioned in one of my all-time favourite movies, You've Got Mail. It prompted me to get at least two books (this one and the one I read last year). Then, I discovered that I had actually already known this story as I had seen a movie adaptation with a young Emma Watson some years ago. Now, I'm correcting the error of not having read the source material yet.

Ballet Shoes was the first children’s book by English author, playwright, and actress Noel Streatfeild (1895-1986). Encouraged by her editor and the success of ballet schools in 1930s London, Streatfeild drew from her own experiences as an actress to write a story about children working on the stage. Thank you, Kathleen Kelly, for alerting me to the existence of this book. This was really cute and heartwarming. Rescued by a Viennese cook, an abandoned baby girl is taken to the house of three eccentric professors, where she is raised by the servants. Then suddenly, her mother arrives to claim her...A girl "sulked." She also decides that she will not be "nice and helpful, and run round fetching and carrying for other people's rehearsals...". A girl states that she is not going to come to class anymore. In the next paragraph, this makes the teacher "angry" and it says that the teacher hates "disobedience." A girl becomes very "conceited." A girl accuses others of being "hateful" and slams the door on them. It is stated that a character is becoming more "conceited every day" and expects people to work for her. A girl says that part of her ballet costume is "stupid." The stage manager responds, "Stupid or not, you're to wear it." A student is angry and "completely lost her temper." Girls unjustly blame another girl even though they know she's innocent. A girl thinks that if she doesn't dance everyone who came to watch will just "go home." Her peers "snub her" as she "could not be allowed to say things like that." A girl puzzles over two different people, and why she believes one of them to be conceited but not the other. A girl gives "an angry jab at her porridge." In a press release dated July 2007 it was announced that the film would begin shooting that August. [5] Screenwriter and producer Heidi Thomas called the schedule "murderous". [6]

Frontispiece for ‘Ballet Shoes’, the Transformation Scene from Cinderella. Pauline as Fairy Godmother The book was an immediate success – copies were rationed and even Streatfeild was only allowed to buy two. It received numerous awards and has been listed by the Library Association as a book that “should always be in print”. Two film adaptations have been produced by the BBC, and the book has also been re-imagined as a children’s ballet.

I’m really sorry but I can’t identify your mystery book, though Kitty Barnes is an author’s name which springs to mind. Still, perhaps someone who reads this post will know it and leave a comment. You could try Googling Children’s book, London setting, rough date, Ann Marie, first person narrator, and any other details you can remember and see what comes up. Ths book is a amazing book! It has inspired me to lov ballet and go to every ballet I can! Thi sbook deserves 6 stars not 5. I recommend this for ages 9-11.5!

The book was written in or around 1936 and the age shows in some opinions (especially with Nana). But it's still a charming little book full of very likeable characters (unlike some in the other I've read) and the days and months and years fly by while we follow the girls as they practice and try to make a name for themselves.

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The story of Pauline, Petrova, and Posy will be in my heart for life, even though I must confess that was introduced to these charming and unforgettable characters from the 1975 British television version. That kind of ruined me for the book; all I'd do was nosh through my favorite scenes. Only when I was in my 20's did I read it cover to cover when I introduced its pleasures to a girl I was tutoring. Miss Theodora "Theo" Dane The last boarder. A dance teacher at the Children's Academy of Classical Ballet. Madame Fidolia A retired Russian prima ballerina of the old Russian empire. Now head of the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. Posy's teacher and mentor.

This is probably the first book ever where I cannot say 'The book is better' straight away. First of all, it is clear that the book is for children and the film is for the grown ups. But the beauty remains in both. Religious & Supernatural - 3 Incidents: Two girls are rehearsing a play that has a graveyard scene where two children hope to see/speak to ghosts. "You can never tell what's magic." "If there was anything that was sacred in the family, it was the savings books. The walk to the post office on Saturday mornings was more sure to happen than church on Sunday."The story is that of three young girls, a few years apart, who have been taken in by Mr. Matthew Brown (Uncle GUM). Pauline is the oldest and was lost at sea after her and Uncle Gum's ship sank. Nobody knows what's happened to her parents. Petrova, the second-oldest, is the daughter of Russian high-borns that fell on hard times after the Revolution and died. Posy, the youngest, is the daughter of a dancer who couldn't take care of her. Ballet Shoes: A Story of Three Children on the Stage is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild, published by Dent in 1936. It was her first book for children, and was illustrated by the author's sister, Ruth Gervis. [ citation needed] Diane Goode illustrated a 1991 edition published by Random House. [2] Thielman, Sam (20 August 2008). "BBC's 'Ballet Shoes' takes U.S. spin: Film reunites three 'Harry Potter' thesps". Variety . Retrieved 30 November 2009. In addition, Ballet Shoes is a school story – the girls attend The Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, which is also a Theatrical agency arranging professional theatre employment for its pupils. When the Cromwell Road money runs out, Pauline and Petrova’s earnings are desperately needed to help the family finances.