Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by readingspells
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I loved this book as a little girl. I treasured my copy and read it muliple times.
When I saw a group of people on Instagram reading it for a classic kids book club I decided to join in. Would it stand up to the test of time like The Borrowers or would I end up seeing it in a new, negative light, like Little Women?
The answer is way more Borrowers than Little Women.
There were a couple of things that I found uncomfortable which was to do with language. The word stupid was used quite a lot when it came to them learning and it made me realise how uncomfortable I am with that word especially when used about children.
But overall this book is a delight and if you think of the time it was written in really rather bold. All the main character are women, their are a couple of male characters but they are not minor in the scheme of it and all these women/girls coke across as smart, determined, opinionated even but also kind and loving.
So who did I want to be when I was little, I can't remember but I probably would have said Pauline but now I can see I am 100% Petrova.
When I saw a group of people on Instagram reading it for a classic kids book club I decided to join in. Would it stand up to the test of time like The Borrowers or would I end up seeing it in a new, negative light, like Little Women?
The answer is way more Borrowers than Little Women.
There were a couple of things that I found uncomfortable which was to do with language. The word stupid was used quite a lot when it came to them learning and it made me realise how uncomfortable I am with that word especially when used about children.
But overall this book is a delight and if you think of the time it was written in really rather bold. All the main character are women, their are a couple of male characters but they are not minor in the scheme of it and all these women/girls coke across as smart, determined, opinionated even but also kind and loving.
So who did I want to be when I was little, I can't remember but I probably would have said Pauline but now I can see I am 100% Petrova.