2019 book 19

Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes
The confluence of two events--all the Shoes books being released for the first time as e-books, and my discovery that no one else in my book club had read this classic British story--meant our February book pick was an easy one! I grew up reading this book over and over and so cannot possibly talk about it objectively, but I feel like it holds up to adult modern readers (we'll see if my book club agrees!). Anyway, this is the story of three adopted sisters (all acquired by an elderly fossil-hunter during his travels) who go into the performing arts to earn money for their family--and to try and make a name for themselves. There are also interesting boarders at hand! It's a very funny, but also touching and sweet, book, with a lot of details about dance classes and stage productions of the 1930s (and a bit about colonialism if you're looking). Petrova 4-Eva.