The Shoes Books

You’ve got mail is one of my favourite movie not just because it has two of my favourite actors but also because its about books and love.

If you remember the scene when Kathleen Kelly walks into Fox books store after her store closes down, a parent comes in to ask for the “Shoes books”. The attendant at the Fox store is clueless but Kathleen Kelly intervenes and tells the parent that “The author of the shoes books is Noel Streatfeild and she has written Ballet Shoes, Skating Shoes, Circus Shoes but I would start with Ballet Shoes”

The shoes books are a classic and a perfect read on your own book for kids 8 and up.

The shoes books have been written by Noel Streatfeild and her first book was Ballet Shoes written in 1936. This is the most popular of the shoes books and is there is a movie adaptation with Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) as one of the leads.The subsequent books did not originally have the shoes suffix but were given the suffix to capitalise on the popularity of the Ballet shoes.

Ballet shoes is the story of 3 adopted girls that grow up to be an actress, dancer and younger one is still to decide what she wants to do. It shows life in Britain during the war times and is a story of hard work, discovering new things and developing passion.

Don’t we want our kids to have just these? That’s why it is a great classic read.

Noel Streatfeild’s other shoes books are Tennis Shoes, Circus Shoes, Ballet Shoes, Theatre Shoes,Party Shoes, Skating shoes, Dancing Shoes.

The books are not a series so you can read whichever you like. I recommend Ballet Shoes and Circus Shoes and Tennis Shoes.

The beauty about her writing is that she writes about kids with hidden talents and about kids who want to excel in something. It’s so nice to see kids who are driven by a passion or a goal and these books evoke that spirit.

If you like Noel Streatfeild’s work then there is a treat in store for you cause as per an article in the Guardian two collections of Noel Stories are going to be published for the first time. They were found amongst the writer’s papers. The works will be published in November 2018.

To quote Guardian article, Noel Streatfeild said that, “A children’s writer must have the ability to remember with all their senses their own childhood, and what it felt like to be a child”. That is what her books do, bring childhood memories alive.