Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on November 6th 2018
ISBN: 0525578617
Pages: 304
Goodreads

This reprint of the 1937 story about three orphan sisters who become a family under a boarding house roof and train for dance and theater only sports a new book cover done by Danielle Kroll.  This new art gives the books a flat, matte, retro look that may not provide the desired results of new interest in the “Shoe” series.  The book’s copyright was renewed in 1965 and it was published again in 1993 and then again in2007 when the movie version was released.  Although a favorite of this reviewer in the early 1970’s because of the ballet and performing story line, the rereading for this review did not inspire a return to the story series. The British setting and the time period feel outdated, and the various character’s minute details of their day, which seems to be similar to homeschooling and focused on training at the academy, is the center of the action .  There are even pages of a theater script within the body of the story that the older sisters are required to learn.  Easy to skip this section.  The readership will most likely be girls in grades 4-6 who are interested in dancing or theater.  Libraries looking to replace an old copy will find this one serviceable.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Springvale Public Library, Springvale