Life with Uncle Cecil is no fun but the children are determined that Anna should be a ballerina, as their dancing-teacher grandfather had wished. Despite Uncle Cecil's opposition to dancing, Anna's brothers secretly battle to raise the money for lessons to set Anna on the path to stardom.
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Life with Uncle Cecil is no fun but the children are determined that Anna should be a ballerina, as their dancing-teacher grandfather had wished. Despite Uncle Cecil's opposition to dancing, Anna's brothers secretly battle to raise the money for lessons to set Anna on the path to stardom.
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Add this copy of Ballet Shoes for Anna to cart. $2.29, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Add this copy of Ballet Shoes for Anna to cart. $2.29, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1976 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Add this copy of Ballet Shoes for Anna to cart. $13.75, good condition, Sold by Harry Righton rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Worcs, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1976 by Lions.
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Seller's Description:
Mary Dinsdale. Good + 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall Very small crease to corners. 15 mm tear to bottom spine end. Bimdings unglueing to some pages. Tanning. B/W illus. Interior clean.
Add this copy of Ballet Shoes for Anna (Lions) to cart. $14.03, very good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1976 by Collins.
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Seller's Description:
Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Damaged cover. The cover of is slightly damaged for instance a torn or bent corner.
Add this copy of Ballet Shoes for Anna to cart. $16.24, good condition, Sold by Harry Righton rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Worcs, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1976 by Lions.
Add this copy of Ballet Shoes for Anna to cart. $30.06, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1984 by Armada Lions.
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Seller's Description:
Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Ballet Shoes for Anna to cart. $31.75, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by William Collins.
I'm glad that this wasn't Noel Streatfeild's first book, her career would have never gotten a start and her other wonderful books never been published. The three children are vastly unappealing and the manner in which Noel portrays their Near Eastern backround is insulting and stereotypical.
Anna, the supposed protagonist, barely makes an impression; we see only an extremely selfish and one-dimensional little girl who is fixated on ballet lessons (which MUST be conducted by first-rate teachers, even though she is only eight years old). We never learn about her feelings, her activities in her classes or how she gets on with her peers. Indeed, this book is much more a story about her two brothers and the struggle they have to provide their nasty sister with money for her lessons.
Francesco, the oldest brother, and Wally his friend are the only children in the book who are even remotely likeable. Gussie, the middle child, is a stubborn little monster whose talent for getting into trouble, without a trace of guilt at the consequences, is annoying to say the least.
The ending of the story is rather abrupt, almost as if Ms. Streatfeild has become as tired of these wearisome characters as we have and wants to dispatch them in a hasty way. I would not bother to read this book again and forget about recommending it to children.
Helen100
May 26, 2007
Poor choice
I've read a number of Streatfeild's books, and this is the one I've liked the least. The protagonist is a selfish little monster who doesn't care about anything but herself and getting her ballet lessons. And when her brothers manage, with great difficulty, to pay for her private lessons, she doesn't even seem grateful - she just wants more lessons from a better teacher. I felt sorry for the brothers who had to put up with such a sister. This doesn't seem like a model for young girls to read about. In her other books when Streatfeild has a child like this, she eventually learns a lesson at the end, but that doesn't happen here. "Ballet Shoes" is a much better book.
