*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!!! ***
I liked how nicely this book tied in with Ballet Shoes. It's not exactly a sequel, as Pauline, Petrova, and Posy are not central characters. It's more like a spin-off, with the Fossil girls - now grown up - having cameos. None of them live in London anymore, so they don't make literal appearances, but they are mentioned quite a bit.
This time, instead of being outright orphans, the three siblings - Sorrel, Mark, and Holly - are only temporarily under the guardianship of their maternal grandmother. Their mother died years ago. Their father, being in the Navy, was away at war.
The story takes place during World War II, and I frequently wondered if young readers would really understand the war references. Isabelle read the book before me, and I am sure many of the wartime details went right over her head. There is talk about rationing and black-outs, and though I tried to explain some of it to Isabelle after the fact, by the time we discussed it, it was all out of context, so I don't know if she learned much in the end.
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading about Madame again, and was pleased to see Winifred in a good place. It was fun hearing from Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, too. One should definitely read Ballet Shoes before Theater Shoes, and having read Ballet Shoes, a few of the story lines will sound familiar. In both books, the first time one of the girls gets a leading part in a production, she lets the role go to her head, acts up, and as punishment, an understudy gets to take over. There's also a big to-do about needing a new frock.
I also liked that, just as in Ballet Shoes, all the enthusiasm for show business was not shared by everyone. It's just nice to see a counterpoint so young children don't get to thinking that being star is everything. In Ballet Shoes, Petrova didn't like to perform, but then again, she didn't have much talent. This time, Mark does have quite a bit of talent, but we see that just because you are good at something doesn't mean you must do that thing as a career, even if you don't mind doing it. I'd like to think that Mark's talent doesn't just waste away, but maybe he uses it as a hobby while pursuing his real ambitions.
As with Ballet Shoes, the only real disappointment in this book was the ending. Noel Streatfeild seems to have had a way with abrupt endings. It's like she opened a scene on the very last page, but we don't get to see how that scene plays out. How does Daddy feel about his children performing? How do Daddy and Grandmother get along when they first see each other again? How does Daddy feel about Mark following in his footsteps when it means not pursuing his talent? It would have been nice if the father's return was taken just a little further, if only just through Christmas dinner, and long enough to lay out the family's plans for the immediate future.
Incidentally, Isabelle gave this book 5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment