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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
emotional
slow-paced
funny
relaxing
This was so adorably enjoyable!! Noel Streatfeild is so good at putting you in the mind of a child, and making you understand exactly why they think or act like they do. Loved Jane's character development and her interesting tactics of getting along with others. Overall super funnnn
I am enjoying Noel Streatfeild's books more now than I did when I was a child. I could not relate to her type A career driven children when I was young.
Everyone in this book was unlikeable in one way or another. And the ending was super abrupt.
lighthearted
reflective
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
This is one of those books that you need to read as a child to experience what the author intends.
I am sure I'd have loved it if I'd read it at 10. A family in need of money given the chance to travel to Los Angeles, away from rationing and towards adventures in dancing, radio and Hollywood. It's wish-fulfilment at its peak.
Eldest child Rachel wants to be a dancer, and meets Posy Fossil from previous book Ballet Shoes (to the delight of readers I would guess). Youngest Tim is talented on the piano and finds his own niche in their new home. It is middle child Jane, envious of her siblings' abilities and opportunities who is given the biggest chance of all...
The story goes in the way you'd expect it, with just a few curveballs (the reason for Mr Winter's inability to work seems quite shocking, the relationship between Jane and Maurice not ending as you'd think). It's quite formulaic, plot wise, but enjoyable for a reader, as you yearn for certain things to happen, and lo and behold...
As an adult, The Painted Garden is sweet, cloyingly so at times, the children actually pretty annoying. As a parent I'd be talking to my child if they spoke in the way the girls sometimes do. The entitlement they seem to feel that they deserve certain things really don't sit well with me.
The awful stereotyping of Italian and 'coloured' accents also was though I suppose of its time, something I'd alter if I read it to my child. And I would also have to discuss the probably-inappropriate present of a cigarette case to an eight-year-old too! I know it would have not been unusual then.
Overall, a great children's classic read and a trip down Of-Its-Time Lane for an adult reader.
I am sure I'd have loved it if I'd read it at 10. A family in need of money given the chance to travel to Los Angeles, away from rationing and towards adventures in dancing, radio and Hollywood. It's wish-fulfilment at its peak.
Eldest child Rachel wants to be a dancer, and meets Posy Fossil from previous book Ballet Shoes (to the delight of readers I would guess). Youngest Tim is talented on the piano and finds his own niche in their new home. It is middle child Jane, envious of her siblings' abilities and opportunities who is given the biggest chance of all...
The story goes in the way you'd expect it, with just a few curveballs (the reason for Mr Winter's inability to work seems quite shocking, the relationship between Jane and Maurice not ending as you'd think). It's quite formulaic, plot wise, but enjoyable for a reader, as you yearn for certain things to happen, and lo and behold...
As an adult, The Painted Garden is sweet, cloyingly so at times, the children actually pretty annoying. As a parent I'd be talking to my child if they spoke in the way the girls sometimes do. The entitlement they seem to feel that they deserve certain things really don't sit well with me.
The awful stereotyping of Italian and 'coloured' accents also was though I suppose of its time, something I'd alter if I read it to my child. And I would also have to discuss the probably-inappropriate present of a cigarette case to an eight-year-old too! I know it would have not been unusual then.
Overall, a great children's classic read and a trip down Of-Its-Time Lane for an adult reader.
I was pleased to finally track down a copy of this book, as it's been out of print for awhile. It's not my favorite book of the Shoes series, but it's ok. I really enjoyed getting an update on the Posy girls and the kids feel like real children, I really liked Jane because she felt like a real child with all her grumpiness and self importance. One word of warning, there's some period typical racism against black people in the book (ie written in dialect, pictures drawn with exaggerated features, etc). While I know this was typical for the time period, it was disappointing to see.
Interesting and very enjoyable. Now I really want to read Ballet Shoes.
I know this as The Painted Garden, and my copy was my mothers.
I must have read this before, since my copy is an ex-library copy from the Bethlehem Public Library, with Bethlehem crossed out and Parr written in in a childish hand. Anyway, it's not the best of the shoe books, although it's very satisfying when the apparently least-talented child does make a success in the end. But the problem is what we used to call "casual racism." Setting the book in America prompts Streatfeild to write a "Mammy" part for one of the servants, and it's toe-curling. The Italian accents are no better. Go read [b:Ballet Shoes|10444|Ballet Shoes|Noel Streatfeild|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388180362l/10444._SX50_.jpg|1505465] instead, it's perfect!