Melodrama! Oh, the poor, poor orphans! This isn't quite up to par with Streatfeild's best writing but is still a decent, if over dramatic, tale of orphans who overcome tragedy. Having lived a gypsy-type life with their Polish mother and British father, who ran away from his stiff upper-lip family to pursue a career as a painter, three children are devastated when all their living European relatives are killed in an earthquake in Turkey. Rescued by a British Lord, they are taken to live with the father's brother. The Uncle is a pompous bore, who hates children and only tolerates them for the sake of appearances, The Aunt is kind but she is terrified as a mouse of her husband. Of course, life in England is miserable for them, especially since the girl had been about to go off for serious ballet lessons when the tragedy struck, her Polish grandfather, a famous Ballet instructor, having taught her all he knew. The Uncle thinks any kind of dance is the work of the devil and forbids them to even mention it again. The children find ways around this and persevere making sure Anna gets some sort of lessons locally, but the boys have trouble raising money and Gus is prone to the shenanigans of The Gang. Written as a tragedy, the children's lives become more and more miserable, though they manage to find happiness in the fact that they at least have each other, until at last the worst may happen then ta dah ... the orphans are rescued again. I grew up on Streatfield and love her books, and enjoyed reading this one again. Though certainly not one of her best, a fun lark for those who like orphan stories.I actually read from two copies of this book as I have two editions I really like and don't want to give up either. First is the HarperCollins "Essential Modern Classics" edition, books from this line start with a short essay from another children's author on "Why You'll Love This Book". This essay is an introduction written by Hilary McKay. Then these books always end with some sort of appropriate back matter relating to the book. As in my previous reviewed "White Boots" from the same line, the Streatfield books end with a note from her nephew, William Streatfield who reminisces about his aunt and something pertaining to either the writing of or the theme of the book in hand. This new editions is, unfortunately, not illustrated. This is why I also kept on hand my battered little Lions paperback (only 50p) so I could read the story and enjoy the illustrations at the same time, though Mary Dinsdale produces some rather scribbled sketches.
This book is about three children - Francesco, Gussie and Anna - who are taken from Eastern Europe to England to live with their Aunt and Uncle. Unfortunately they disapprove of dancing, yet Anna is determined to be a ballet dancer. The book revolves around the children's gradual adaptation to British life, and also Anna's persistence in needing to find ballet classes and a teacher who will take her seriously.As ever with this author's work, the children are delightful - a mixture of good and bad, responsible and irresponsible - and the adults rather caricatured. But that's not a bad thing in a book intended for this agegroup. The story moves along rapidly and I enjoyed it very much. My only criticism of the book is that it ends very abruptly. There are some dramatic events in the last couple of chapters, then suddenly all problems are solved in a 'deus ex machina' way in about two pages. It didn't feel as if it fit with the rest of the book.But other than that, it's excellent - and a little more thought-provoking than others by this author.
What do You think about Ballet Shoes For Anna (1998)?
As with many of Streatfeild’s books (at least those I’ve read), the children are the victims of unfortunate circumstances. In the case of Anna, Francesco and Gussie, an earthquake takes away their family, destroys their village. And they find themselves in England under the care of their uncle, a mean-spirited man who wants nothing to do with them and hates that he has to spend his money on them. His wife though is sweet and concerned but always puts the husband first. So the boys, with the help of a new friend, try to figure out how to get their Anna the proper ballet training she deserves, as well as the best ballet shoes (their uncle obviously considers dancing a frivolous activity). It’s a story about determination and courage, with Francesco as a great big brother character. Too bad Anna seems rather silly!Originally posted at http://olduvaireads.wordpress.com/201...
—Sharlene
I was disappointed with this book. I thought it would have been more about Anna's struggle to convince her uncle that she should take ballet lessons, but instead it was about two brothers scrounging up money. That was the only thing on the brothers' minds- how to get money for Anna's classes. They had no interests of their own. Gussie started to, towards the end when he joined the school's gang, but even then his primary focus was to get money for classes.Anna had no personality of her own. She
—Jay
Anna and her two live with their grandparents in a small village in Turkey which is devastated by an earthquake. When the beloved grandparents are killed, the children are sent to live with a severe British uncle who refuses to allow Anna to take dancing lessons. Her brothers Francesco and Gussie are miserable too, until they unexpectedly find help. As with many of Streatfeild's books, one learns about an art as well as the characters. Not as much fun as _Ballet Shoes_, but an entertaining story.
—Carolynne
