i have been a great fan of the theatre ever since i was a child. i even took a few classes on theatre last year. so it wasn't a very great surprise when this book was the the first to catch my eye on my to the library this week. i had never heard of noel streatfield until i saw this book, but after reading it i must admit that i love her writing very much.the story is about three children named sorrel, mark and holly forbes. during the second world war their father rejoined the navy and they were sent to england to live with their grandfather, the vicar of a village called martins. but their grandfather was a curious man who was writing a book about the animals refered to in the bible and who never really realised that the children were there living with him. the children's mother had died when the youngest, holly was quite little and they had never really known much about her apart from the fact that she was beautiful and very much in love with their father. so it was quite a surprise to all of them when they found out that their mother had come from a family of theatre actors, and not just any family of actors but the great warrens themselves! their mother's mother, thier grandmother, was still an actress and so were all their aunts and uncles that they had never even known. it was an even bigger surprise for them when they found out that they had to live with their gandmother now that their grandfather was dead and there was no one else to look after them. but life at a family of actors is very much different than any of them could have imagined and on their arrival they find out that they must not only leave their home at martins but go to a theatre school in london.the story goes on to describe their lives at the theatre school, their first steps in the world of theatre and how the very perception of life itself changes abruptly for these three children.this book opened up the world of theatre to me. the traning, the auditions, the rehearsals and dress rehearsals, the fact that you must have a license to act and what you have to do to get it...it's all in this brilliant little book. streatfield shows the life of theatre so well that i found myself wishing i had been a stage actress to.theatre shoes shows the life of not only of these three children, but of more or less the life of all aspiring actors throughout the world. there are constant references to a previous book in the series, ballet shoes, and i think that this book shoud be read after you've read that one, or else you might not be able to understand everything.
This is my favorite of the Shoes books, probably because I read it over and over when I was a kid. While reading this copy, however, I was somewhat dismayed to realize that the copy I had was either edited down to make it shorter, or to make it more comprehensible to 1980s American children. Meaning I read an abridged version--the horror! It was both nice to read all the missing parts and very odd, because the book seemed clunkier and like it dragged more with all the extraneous detail added.Anyway, I'm giving it five stars anyway because it is a fantastic description of Blitz-era London from a child's point of view (that, and nostalgia. And it's charming). My mother grew up in the UK post WW2 and this book really made me realize what an affect rationing, coupons, blackouts, and the like had on the population. I love love love all the theatrical details and the competitive nature of the relationship between Miranda and Sorrel, and I like all the secondary and tertiary characters a great deal. Upon re-reading, though, I think the grandmother should have been ashamed of how her grandchildren were treated, and I wish the aunts and uncles had taken slightly more interest in their welfare.
What do You think about Theater Shoes (1994)?
Theatre Shoes (originally published as Curtain Up) is a sort-of sequel to Noel Streatfeild’s great Ballet Shoes. Ten years have passed placing us right in the middle of World War 2. The pupils at Madame’s academy still train hard for careers on the stage, although rationing makes the struggles for money and appropriate clothing even more pressing. Though Theatre Shoes follows a new set of pupils, siblings Sorell, Mark and Holly, whose father is missing in action, we get glimpses into the lives of the now legendary Fossil sisters.I love the way Noel Stretfield mixes escapist fantasy with down to earth family and financial problems. Her child characters feel so real even if the events of their lives are the stuff of fairy-tale. Readers should start with Ballet Shoes but it would be a pity to miss this neglected gem. This is comfort reading of the very best kind.
—Oracle_books
This book shows how well the "shoe" books work with each other. Each of the books have at least one orphan in them, and in the Theater Shoes book, there are three orphans. These orphans are put into a theater school and are unable to pay the tuition, but thanks to the orphans from the Ballet Shoes book, they are able to go and have a grade adventure while at the school. Again Noel Streatfeild is a genius when it comes to writing books for little girls. He knows exactly how to reach the soul of a little girl and help her to believe in something greater within herself. When I am old, and I have children, hopefully there will be at least one little girl, and I will have her read all of the shoe books. Fine arts are a dying beauty within our school systems, and for children to at least be able to read about them and perhaps be inspired by these books to pursue a type of fine art would be ideal. I owe my life to being what it is today due to fine arts. Overall, the Theater Shoes is an exquisite book and I highly recommend it to any little girl out there looking for a source to help her believe in how amazing she can become.I would recommend this for grades 2nd through 6th. For the 2nd grade, I would recommend reading it to the children, but for the grades above that, it would be a good book for them to read on their own.
—Megan
I first read this book as a child when it was known as Curtain Up! but like many of Noel Streatfield's books, it has been rebranded to bring it in line with her shoes related theme. From a marketing point of view, I can entirely see how this makes sense but while ballet shoes were a central part of Ballet Shoes, footwear pays no real part in this novel, nor indeed in what was The Painted Garden and is now Movie Shoes. Still, if it brings more readers to Noel Streatfeild, then I dare say that the publishers know best.Theatre Shoes is set roughly six years after the end of Ballet Shoes, during World War Two which rumbles in the background of the story without ever particularly intruding. Sorrel, Mark and Holly Forbes have lost their home in Guernsey due to the occupation, their mother is long dead and their paternal grandfather recently so. With their father missing in action, the three children find themselves gathered up by their mother's estranged family and sent to live with their grandmother. Upon arrival, they discover that their mother was descended from a family of celebrated actors and that the three of them are expected to join in the family tradition.For my full review:http://girlwithherheadinabook.blogspo...
—Girl with her Head in a Book
