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Original poster

Ballet Shoes

31 replies

birdling · 06/05/2023 19:24

Just reread this. Such a lovely story that I loved as a child and still love now.
At the end Petrova asks 'I wonder, if other girls had to be one of us, which of us they'd choose to be?'
As a child I would have chosen to be Posy, as I dreamed of dancing. Now I would definitely choose Pauline.
Who would you choose to be and is that any different to who you would have chosen as a child?

OP posts:
husbandcallsmepickle · 06/05/2023 19:43

I haven't read the book for years. Your post has inspired me to read it again soon!

froginawell · 06/05/2023 20:00

Love that book! I've read it so many times

Jfw82 · 06/05/2023 20:02

Exactly same I'd have chosen to be Posy when I read it but definitely Pauline now - also loved seeing them grown up when I read 'the painted garden'

aramox1 · 06/05/2023 20:09

Petrova always! Love the illustrations in my old copy too

dizzydizzydizzy · 06/05/2023 20:10

My favourite childhood book. Must have read it at least a dozen times but not in the last 40 years.

Yiayoula · 06/05/2023 20:11

Oh, I remember being given The Painted Garden as a primary school prize !
Lovely memories.

ElfDragon · 06/05/2023 20:12

I always wanted to be Petrova, but I was actually Posy (youngest, ballet dancer on a scholarship, etc)

I still want to be Petrova, tbh.

Gasketcracker · 06/05/2023 20:24

I adore Ballet Shoes! My favourite childhood book, too. I have my mum's copy from the 50s, and it was wonderful to read it to my daughter for the first time.
I always wanted to be Petrova (and still do), but I always admired Posy's complete belief in herself.

SockQueen · 06/05/2023 20:41

I wanted to be Pauline, but I am definitely a Petrova. Or maybe a Sylvia/Garnie

Adelaide66 · 06/05/2023 20:52

Another Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild fan.
I always thought GUM, Great Uncle Matthew,
was improbable.

Wishthiswasntthecase · 06/05/2023 20:55

I think I wanted to be Posy but always knew even age 6 I was Pauline.

StillMedusa · 06/05/2023 20:55

Oh I loved (and still love) Ballet Shoes. And The Painted Garden (I identified with Jane Grin) and The Party Frock... great books.

I think I would have liked to have been Posy.. she just knew who she was :)

DappledThings · 06/05/2023 20:58

My aunt gave me her copy of it. I read it many times, my aunt then took it back for her daughter my cousin who is much younger than me. I hope she loved it as much as we both had.

Pauline then and now! I loved all the detail of the hours they were allowed to work and the minimum money they had to save but the extra they did.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 06/05/2023 21:03

None of them! I love them all but don't resemble any of them in any way. I would have loved to be a dancer. My parents couldn't afford ballet lessons but this may have been a blessing in disguise, as I am one of the worst co-ordinated humans who's ever walked the earth. I had as much chance of becoming a ballerina as I had of going into space - which leads me on to Petrova. I love Petrova, and find her the most sympathetic, but I am not like her. Engines hold no appeal for me, and I have no mechanical aptitude either. I'm also not Pauline. Can't act for toffee, and I never 'paid for the dressing' Grin. Bit more like Winifred, but she could dance.

SummerBaby23 · 06/05/2023 21:04

I loved this book, I read it until my copy fell apart. Thanks for the reminder, it's definitely one I will add to the list for my daughter.

DramaAlpaca · 06/05/2023 21:09

I need to read this again!

I was always Petrova.

jay55 · 06/05/2023 21:16

I think I would have liked to be Dr Jakes.
I liked drama and dance but knew mid teens I wouldn't want the uncertainty of that life.

FinallyHere · 06/05/2023 21:44

Petrova, every time

Glad to report that I am grateful to earn my living at the leading edge of technology innovations and enjoy every minute of it.

ShoesoftheWorld · 06/05/2023 21:49

Petrova absolutely appeals most (she's the nicest and most down-to-earth one too), but my abilities are closer to Pauline's - or actually I would be one of the literary 'lady doctors', Dr Jakes and what was the other one called?

Ballet Shoes has been a comfort book pretty much all my life.

MargaretThursday · 06/05/2023 22:37

Middle child here: Definitely Petrova

CeliaNorth · 06/05/2023 22:58

Love the illustrations in my old copy too

Did you know the illustrator, Ruth Gervis, was Noel Streatfeild's sister? The publisher suggested her for the job, not knowing they were sisters.

cheeseisthebest · 06/05/2023 23:00

My favourite childhood book too. My 15 year old daughter read it age 9 and loved it and just heard my 9 year old niece is reading it. Imagine the joy of reading it for the first time!

Okaygoahead · 07/05/2023 03:00

Petrova. I loved her name! Absolutely must re-read it now, but only if I can find an edition with the proper illustrations. So interesting about the illustrator @CeliaNorth!

Gremlinsateit · 07/05/2023 03:04

Has anyone read The Whicharts? If not, don’t read it unless you like a more cynical viewpoint. But it does explain GUM better.

As a child, probably Pauline. But my talents don’t run in any of those directions.

Original poster
birdling · 07/05/2023 07:42

The Painted Garden????
Why have I never come across this before 😲
Right, I'm off to find a copy!

OP posts: