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tracey_stewart's review against another edition
3.0
This was a nostalgic read along with an L.M. Montgomery-focused group on Goodreads; I think I wound up receiving it and finishing it too late to be useful in the discussion, but I was tickled to read it anyway. I have fond memories of Noel Streatfeild, although I don't recall reading this one. It was always fascinating to read about children participating in adult worlds; stupid as we all are when we're kids, being grown-up sounds so cool. Little do we know.
In Ballet Shoes the focus is on three little girls who have each been orphaned and separately adopted by a peripatetic anthropologist (say that five times fast) – who has dropped each of them off into the care of his sister and his housemaid in their massive museum-like home and taken off on a new voyage. The voyage he is on as the book begins has lasted quite a bit longer than his dependants expected, and straits are growing dire. Boarders are taken in, which helps matters, and as the girls approach the age at which they can legally earn money on the stage, they enter a school where they will learn to dance and to act.
In many ways books like this and the Arthur Ransome children-messing-about-in-boats books were and are as alien to me and my childhood as the most outré SciFi. Self-reliant children setting out and having adventures – unheard of. Here, though, the children have an awareness of the family's financial situation that is, I think, rare; the aunts hide the worst of it from them, but they do know that if their almost criminally negligent Gum doesn't manage to find his way back, and soonest, there will be some extremely uncomfortable consequences. Things have changed even since this book was written, to the point that in most of the first world today having to send three small children out to work – even at something as theoretically fun as theatre and dance – is extreme. But I think as a child it was captivating to read about it. Here are kids not too unlike me who if they had to could fend for themselves. They're doing something so very much cooler than going to bright boring elementary school every day, and earning money to help their family. Reading a book like this as an adult is, as mentioned, an exercise in nostalgia – not a reminiscence about or wistfulness for an unjaded time when I had adventures like the children in the book, but when I saw only the excitement of the adventures and none of the dangers or tedium.
In Ballet Shoes the focus is on three little girls who have each been orphaned and separately adopted by a peripatetic anthropologist (say that five times fast) – who has dropped each of them off into the care of his sister and his housemaid in their massive museum-like home and taken off on a new voyage. The voyage he is on as the book begins has lasted quite a bit longer than his dependants expected, and straits are growing dire. Boarders are taken in, which helps matters, and as the girls approach the age at which they can legally earn money on the stage, they enter a school where they will learn to dance and to act.
In many ways books like this and the Arthur Ransome children-messing-about-in-boats books were and are as alien to me and my childhood as the most outré SciFi. Self-reliant children setting out and having adventures – unheard of. Here, though, the children have an awareness of the family's financial situation that is, I think, rare; the aunts hide the worst of it from them, but they do know that if their almost criminally negligent Gum doesn't manage to find his way back, and soonest, there will be some extremely uncomfortable consequences. Things have changed even since this book was written, to the point that in most of the first world today having to send three small children out to work – even at something as theoretically fun as theatre and dance – is extreme. But I think as a child it was captivating to read about it. Here are kids not too unlike me who if they had to could fend for themselves. They're doing something so very much cooler than going to bright boring elementary school every day, and earning money to help their family. Reading a book like this as an adult is, as mentioned, an exercise in nostalgia – not a reminiscence about or wistfulness for an unjaded time when I had adventures like the children in the book, but when I saw only the excitement of the adventures and none of the dangers or tedium.
yarnreader's review against another edition
3.0
I'm the first to admit that when it comes to anthologies I tend to be very reluctant to pick them up and stick with them. But with this collection, I heard so many praises for it that I wanted to check it out. So I gave it it a shot. Each story was well written, it made it much easier to just keep reading just one more story. I really enjoyed the different points of view that each author brought in their stories. It really opened my eyes and made me see things in a new light.
klmeyers's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I had read this when I was a kid; I would have enjoyed it more. I only read it because it's mentioned in You've Got Mail, aka the best movie of all time.
alysian_fields's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
danicamidlil's review against another edition
4.0
I've been wanting to read this since Meg Ryan gushed about it in You've Got Mail.
jayfr's review against another edition
3.0
A childhood favourite that I didn't enjoy as much as when I was 10.
Unless you have knowledge of old-fashioned money some of this won't make sense.
Pauline, Petronas and Posy aren't as nice girls as I remembered but that is just my opinion.
All in all I wish I'd relied on my memory regarding this.
Unless you have knowledge of old-fashioned money some of this won't make sense.
Pauline, Petronas and Posy aren't as nice girls as I remembered but that is just my opinion.
All in all I wish I'd relied on my memory regarding this.
lexi2021's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emadsett's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
blakehalsey's review against another edition
5.0
A great classic tale of 3 sisters and their coming of age. A must for any gal at any age.