What age is ballet shoes by Noel Streatfeild for?

[Mercedes]

I've bought this book for my 14 year old niece remembering how much I enjoyed it. I'm now wondering whether my memory has deceived me and its too young for a 14yrd old?
What do other readers think?

Hmmm - I hate to say it, but yes - I would have said more like 9-10, although I was probably just about still re-reading them at 14.

Agree with steathsquiggle. My 7-year-old read it recently and loved it, but it probably is a bit young for a 14-year-old.

Oh well. I'd better keep it till my dd is older then.
any recommendations what i can get a 14 year old?

Message withdrawn

I was 42 the last time I read it. I would say 8-12 as optimum age, but some 14-year-olds would certainly enjoy it if they hadn't had the chance to read it before. Depends on the person, but better late than never IMO.

TBH, I know it is boring, but I would get a book token/ gift card so she can choose for herself. At 14, I was reading 5-6 library books a week, so the chances of someone picking something I hadn't already read were slim. However, a happy hour (or two) in a bookshop with book tokens to spend was bliss...

I loved this book, I would say 10-13 ish.
Can't wait till my dd reads it ,she ice skates too.

"Ballet Shoes" is lovely but unless she's not much of a reader, or is hugely into ballet, I don't think a 14 year old would appreciate it much. Save it for dd but read it yourself again too!

For your niece, you'd be much better off getting her a voucher to choose her own book. Or maybe get her a classic ("Pride And Prejudice" - but I would say that!) with the accompanying dvd?

Or - and I always recommend these: www.georgianicolson.com/meet.html - the first couple are screamingly funny.

She lives in Sweden in the middle of no-where. There are no nearby bookshops so she can only use book vouchers when she is over in the UK. She does like you to buy her books but the last time she had read most of what I brought. I did buy her Watership Down which she gave up on cos there was too many words she didn't know.
I'm sure my technique at that age was to guess at the words and keep going.

Little Women etc?

Not P & P then, as she'd probably give up on that. How about "I Capture The Castle"?

I loved that book when I was younger! Think I read it when I was about 10.

I think Austen is better read a little later than 14 but Jane Eyre hit the spot for me at that sort of age...possibly helped by starting to watch a BBC classic serialisation but wanting to see how the story ended without waiting 6 weeks!

Have a look at the Carnegie books awards, good recommendations for 11-14 there.

I really liked 'Journey to the River Sea' by Eva Ibbotson.

Give her "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith - one of the great books for teenage girls.

I've never heard of Dodie Smith but will give it a try. The carnegie book awards is a good idea. Although I live in London the 2 bookshops wihtin practical distance are WHS Smith. One of them has one double sided rack of books with crime/romance/sci-fi/general fiction/biography/sport. That's all the books it has. So crap.

I capture the castle is one of my all time favourite books. I didn't read it until a few years ago, but would have adored it as a 14 year old.

I loved this book and was reading it up to about 15, like an old comfy jumper.

Dodie Smith is BRILLIANT! I Capture the Castle is one of my all time favourites, too.

So is English not her first language? Or it is, but she's growing up in Sweden so her vocabulary isn't what someone living in Britain's would be?

If that's the case, she'll want something subtle (ie age-appropriate), but simply written ... how about a batch of the Frances Hodgson Burnetts, if she hasn't already had them earlier? - Secret Garden, Little Princess, Lost Prince? Children read them earlier here, but they're lasters.

Have you had a look at this thread?

You could send her an Amazon voucher - then she can easily buy what she likes - rememeber to add on a little to the amount to cover the postage costs.

Hi
At what age is this appropriate if I read the book to my daughter? How old is the story for? My daughter has just turned 8.
Thanks

What age is the story for

Fault in our stars is a very easy read, and more age appropriate. I was looking for books foreign language students and Wonder was recommended, and The curious incident of the dog in the night (which is a lovely book and also teen-suitable). I agree, Ballet shoes is 8-11, for a first time read.