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Shoes #6
Movie Shoes
Life is tough for the Winter family in London, with little money and Dad out of work. Luckily Aunt Cora comes to the rescue with an invitation to live in California. From that moment on, talented Rachel and Tim dream of stardom in America. The family couldn't be more surprised when a movie producer picks plain peevish Jane for the lead part of Mary in The Secret Garden. No one's ever noticed Jane before. Could this be the chance of a lifetime?
Alternate Title: The Painted Garden
Alternate Title: The Painted Garden
239 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
About the author
Noel Streatfeild
176 books632 followersMary Noel Streatfeild, known as Noel Streatfeild, was an author best known and loved for her children's books, including Ballet Shoes and Circus Shoes. She also wrote romances under the pseudonym
Susan Scarlett
.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 5, 2020
California, here they come! The Winters family spends several months in Hollywood so father Bob can recuperate away from the damp London winter. The three kids are at first dismayed to be leaving beloved activities and pets behind. For Rachel it is her dance lessons; for Jane, her beloved dog Chewing Gum; and for Tim, his piano lessons. After a brief adjustment period at Aunt Cora's, each finds a way to flourish in California. Loved the varied roads of discovery for each of the kids and the rewind back to the late 40's. Their nanny Peaseblossom is a delight as is Bella, the maid at Aunt Cora's. And what a nice surprise to have the Fossil sisters from Ballet Shoes make a reappearance. Had to request this title from another library system and it was worth the trouble.
February 17, 2026
3.75🌟 A fun book in the Shoes series full of dancing, movie sets, piano playing (and possible stardom) set in California! Following the Winter family from England to the US was not only entertaining, but I also got to enjoy some Secret Garden snippets when young (and irritable) Jane joins the movie cast.
It was so nice to see John Winter start to heal and grow stronger after accepting his sister Cora's invitation to stay at her Santa Monica home for 6 months. During that time, so much happens to the Winter children—dancer Rachel, piano passionate Tim, and unhappy Jane with her "black-dogged" moods. Not only do they make new friends, but they learn a lot about themselves, their strengths and how to support each other.
Even though this is not my all-time favorite Noel Streatfeild Shoes title, there's so much to love about the story and I would definitely read it again. This is my year for reading (and rereading) Noel Streatfeild/Susan Scarlett books and I'm so happy!
It was so nice to see John Winter start to heal and grow stronger after accepting his sister Cora's invitation to stay at her Santa Monica home for 6 months. During that time, so much happens to the Winter children—dancer Rachel, piano passionate Tim, and unhappy Jane with her "black-dogged" moods. Not only do they make new friends, but they learn a lot about themselves, their strengths and how to support each other.
Even though this is not my all-time favorite Noel Streatfeild Shoes title, there's so much to love about the story and I would definitely read it again. This is my year for reading (and rereading) Noel Streatfeild/Susan Scarlett books and I'm so happy!
April 7, 2024
Wonderful read, and very unexpected too. I'd forgotten just how great her other books are and I'm so glad I gave this a chance. The writing is sweet and warm and the children's adventures are full of wonder. The Christmas scenes in particular really moved me, and the beginning of the book, about the family's first steps in America, is hilarious. I enjoyed this very very much and I can't wait to read and reread more of her work.
January 2, 2025
Ahhhh Aunt Cora never improves. But saying goodbye to Bella and the others was sad. I do wish Jane would have had better personal growth but she really didn’t have much encouragement. I was very sad they didn’t show her reunion with Chewing-Gum. I want very much to find a copy for myself however. I had a slow start due to the holidays but once I picked it up again, I flew through it. I couldn’t put it down. Five stars all around.
July 19, 2015
This was probably my least favorite Shoes book growing up, because Jane is a difficult character to read about. This is a Streatfield novel, so the story starts with quite a set of coincidences: her father is ill and the doctor says he must get out of England for the winter; his sister lives in Santa Monica; Jane is wandering around Santa Monica when she finds a lost dog, whose owner is a movie producer looking for a Mary for his The Secret Garden. Jane gets the part because she's British and emphatic.
Jane's a hard character. Her sister is a talented dancer and her brother is a talented pianist. She's the middle, untalented child - and the plainest one, too. Streatfield has characters like that, but they usually aren't given a story. Here, Jane is, and it's both compelling and disturbing.
I'm not going to take away from the fact that Jane is very difficult, because she is - and very realistically so - but her parents' behavior is shocking. Which was a new discovery for me, on this reread. Bee is embarrassed of her, and John is entertained by her, and neither try to parent at all. Mrs. Doe, who's in the book for three pages, a) is a better listener and b) gives excellent, practical advice which c) demonstrates more understanding of Jane than her parents ever show. And then there's Dr. Smith and even Jane's Mr. Browne, who both relate to Jane through her dog - again more than Bee and John do.
Movie Shoes ends up being a story - likely inadvertently - of an enchanted California interlude. Of a child who's the odd one out, and who makes her own luck through sheer force of will, and who's going back to her odd-man-out life in England, where her best friend is her dog. Outside the confines of this book, the story is pretty miserable.
Jane's a hard character. Her sister is a talented dancer and her brother is a talented pianist. She's the middle, untalented child - and the plainest one, too. Streatfield has characters like that, but they usually aren't given a story. Here, Jane is, and it's both compelling and disturbing.
I'm not going to take away from the fact that Jane is very difficult, because she is - and very realistically so - but her parents' behavior is shocking. Which was a new discovery for me, on this reread. Bee is embarrassed of her, and John is entertained by her, and neither try to parent at all. Mrs. Doe, who's in the book for three pages, a) is a better listener and b) gives excellent, practical advice which c) demonstrates more understanding of Jane than her parents ever show. And then there's Dr. Smith and even Jane's Mr. Browne, who both relate to Jane through her dog - again more than Bee and John do.
Movie Shoes ends up being a story - likely inadvertently - of an enchanted California interlude. Of a child who's the odd one out, and who makes her own luck through sheer force of will, and who's going back to her odd-man-out life in England, where her best friend is her dog. Outside the confines of this book, the story is pretty miserable.
June 16, 2010
In this story, the Winter family moves from England to the US for six months so that the father can recover from an accident in the nice southern California weather. Coming from war-ravaged London where food is still rationed even though the war (WWII) has been over for a couple of years, the Winters bask in the sunshine and the unlimited fruit and butter.
The eldest child, Rachel, is a ballet dancer (at Madame Fidolia's school, of course), and the youngest, Tim, is a talented pianist. Jane, the ornery middle child, has never shone at anything and is even the plainest of the three. When she gets the chance to play Mary in a movie of "The Secret Garden," she hopes that she will be the important Winter for once. But because the famous Posy Fossil arranges ballet lessons for Rachel and Tim finds a way to earn money playing the piano, Jane doesn't become quite the star of her family that she had hoped.
[Author:Noel Streatfeild] has a keen perception of children (or at least it seems so to me, as I do not). She captures vividly their ambitions, their irritations, their varied relations with their families. Even if no one else understands the difficult Jane, Streatfeild does, and she makes her more likable.
But of course she is known most for her focus on the performing arts. My first introduction to ballet was probably Ballet Shoes. And everything I know about "The Blue Bird" is definitely from that book. In addition to dance and theatre, Streatfeild incorporates literature into her books. Movie Shoes is all about The Secret Garden. Jane has read the book several times before being cast as Mary, and I agree with her ideas about Mary's character. It's great when the director tells her something he wants her to do, and she protests (futilely), "But Mary wouldn't do that!"
How much I enjoy the Shoe books! Because only three (Ballet Shoes, Dancing Shoes and Theatre Shoes) are in print in the US, I've had to collect the others from used book sales and a trip to Scotland. Movie Shoes was a happy find at a book sale a couple of months ago.
The eldest child, Rachel, is a ballet dancer (at Madame Fidolia's school, of course), and the youngest, Tim, is a talented pianist. Jane, the ornery middle child, has never shone at anything and is even the plainest of the three. When she gets the chance to play Mary in a movie of "The Secret Garden," she hopes that she will be the important Winter for once. But because the famous Posy Fossil arranges ballet lessons for Rachel and Tim finds a way to earn money playing the piano, Jane doesn't become quite the star of her family that she had hoped.
[Author:Noel Streatfeild] has a keen perception of children (or at least it seems so to me, as I do not). She captures vividly their ambitions, their irritations, their varied relations with their families. Even if no one else understands the difficult Jane, Streatfeild does, and she makes her more likable.
But of course she is known most for her focus on the performing arts. My first introduction to ballet was probably Ballet Shoes. And everything I know about "The Blue Bird" is definitely from that book. In addition to dance and theatre, Streatfeild incorporates literature into her books. Movie Shoes is all about The Secret Garden. Jane has read the book several times before being cast as Mary, and I agree with her ideas about Mary's character. It's great when the director tells her something he wants her to do, and she protests (futilely), "But Mary wouldn't do that!"
How much I enjoy the Shoe books! Because only three (Ballet Shoes, Dancing Shoes and Theatre Shoes) are in print in the US, I've had to collect the others from used book sales and a trip to Scotland. Movie Shoes was a happy find at a book sale a couple of months ago.
December 11, 2015
The very worst Streatfield I have ever read. None of the characters is remotely sympathetic, and I didn't feel at all empathetic with any of the three self-involved children. Tim was obnoxious, Rachel oblivious and Jane flat-down unpleasant. Their parents just kind of hang around waving their hands admiringly and saying, "Well honey if that's what you want to do, go for it." The Americans are cardboard (did Streatfield ever visit America?) with stupid made-up sounding names like "Sneltzworther"--and seriously, "Bee Bee Studios"?
Streatfield certainly wasn't trying very hard. I found it very hard to believe that even in 1949 an American child actress in Hollywood would go around curtseying to guests at her own party! Shaking hands yes, being polite certainly--but not curtseying. But then Streatfield has a "thing" about curtseying in her "dancing stories."
Posy Fossil makes a reprise performance from an earlier book--as I thought, going to Czechoslovakia in 1938 didn't work out, though we are never told how she and her dancing master made it to the US before WW2. But even she and her entourage are background. I trudged to the end, willing it to be over, just to see if Streatfield could redeem this thing. She couldn't. The ending was tacked-on, just to sweep the family back to England loaded down with presents and satisfying éclat, having got what they wanted--money and a free vacation, I guess. The final scene with the train had me rolling my eyes.
If you haven't read any of Streatfield's "Shoe" books--don't start here! If I had, it would have put me off her for life. Maybe that's why the author worked in so much about "The Secret Garden"--maybe she knew it wasn't very good, so she tried to ride on a better book's coattail.
Streatfield certainly wasn't trying very hard. I found it very hard to believe that even in 1949 an American child actress in Hollywood would go around curtseying to guests at her own party! Shaking hands yes, being polite certainly--but not curtseying. But then Streatfield has a "thing" about curtseying in her "dancing stories."
Posy Fossil makes a reprise performance from an earlier book--as I thought, going to Czechoslovakia in 1938 didn't work out, though we are never told how she and her dancing master made it to the US before WW2. But even she and her entourage are background. I trudged to the end, willing it to be over, just to see if Streatfield could redeem this thing. She couldn't. The ending was tacked-on, just to sweep the family back to England loaded down with presents and satisfying éclat, having got what they wanted--money and a free vacation, I guess. The final scene with the train had me rolling my eyes.
If you haven't read any of Streatfield's "Shoe" books--don't start here! If I had, it would have put me off her for life. Maybe that's why the author worked in so much about "The Secret Garden"--maybe she knew it wasn't very good, so she tried to ride on a better book's coattail.
October 31, 2012
During the summer I was eight, I chose this for the plane ride to my grandparents'. And even though we went to the library at least twice a week, I read it over and over again. Not only does Streatfeild give the perfect shout-out to The Secret Garden, she brings back the Fossils! I still get excited when Rachel has lunch with Posy and Pauline.
Aunt Cora is one of my favorite Streatfeild characters. She's so selfish and whiny, and her type doesn't really appear in any of the other Shoes books.
I didn't know "Good King Wenceslas" when I was eight, so it was only later that I appreciated the "California, Here I Come" scene.
I enjoy trying and failing to picture myself as a modern-day Peaseblossom.
Aunt Cora is one of my favorite Streatfeild characters. She's so selfish and whiny, and her type doesn't really appear in any of the other Shoes books.
I didn't know "Good King Wenceslas" when I was eight, so it was only later that I appreciated the "California, Here I Come" scene.
I enjoy trying and failing to picture myself as a modern-day Peaseblossom.
September 21, 2021
This is definitely one of my favorite of the Shoe books. Each and every character (except Aunt Cora but even she gets better) is a delight with so much personality. I loved seeing how each Winter (and Peaseblossom) adapted to being in California.
February 27, 2017
Another one of the great "Shoes" books. Noel Streatfeild used some of the knowledge from her own life to look at things most children's writers (excepting the greatest ones, the folk and fairy tale creators) don't: work, money, and envy. I read this one several times sixty years ago and remember it in detail.
The great ones leave indelible memories.
The great ones leave indelible memories.
July 31, 2015
I actually read my mother's original copy of The Painted Garden, published in England in 1949, and I read it to my 11 yr old daughter. We both enjoyed it very much. The edition we read does contain stereotyped dialog for different characters, which some modern readers may object to. But I thought it did a good job of describing how this post-war English family reacted to the abundance and affluence of southern California. I also appreciate how many of the characters are less than perfect. Streatfeild shows kids being kids, having meltdowns and jealousies, and coping with feeling left out. None of these emotions are romanticized but neither are they vilified. She shows normal people coping with normal emotions. I think my daughter related and hopefully learned something. I enjoyed passing this book on to the next generation.
March 11, 2013
Reading the British version, The Painted Garden, which has some significant differences from Movie Shoes.
So the major things cut out, from what I could see, were more detail about America and some key stuff about Bella the black servant and the Antonios. The dialogue for them was VERY stereotyped, and there were a few things about Aunt Cora not wanting the Antonios around her that I don't remember from Movie Shoes.
It's funny to me that I love Jane so much in this book, since Rachel is the ballerina and I always like the ballerinas. But then I find Rachel insufferable, and Jane a grumpy delight.
So the major things cut out, from what I could see, were more detail about America and some key stuff about Bella the black servant and the Antonios. The dialogue for them was VERY stereotyped, and there were a few things about Aunt Cora not wanting the Antonios around her that I don't remember from Movie Shoes.
It's funny to me that I love Jane so much in this book, since Rachel is the ballerina and I always like the ballerinas. But then I find Rachel insufferable, and Jane a grumpy delight.
December 11, 2014
I've loved Noel Streatfeild since I discovered Ballet Shoes, my favorite book of all time, at age 9. It's always a joy to find a new "Shoes" book, as most of them are out of print in the US; this one wasn't my favorite of the series, as the British setting of the others was always part of the magic (and the non-English 'dialects' were truly dreadful) but still a pleasant read.
February 11, 2016
Not nearly as good as Ballet Shoes or Dancing Shoes, primarily because, while the two oldest children are likable, and the father is a sympathetic character, everyone else is fairly horrid. And we're supposed to come to like Jane, and really, I just wanted to smack her, even as a child, throughout most of this. Still, I would have given this a 3.5 if that option was available.
December 29, 2016
I have always loved Noel Streatfeild's books and as a child I got my library to ILL them for me or hunted through second hand book stores to find all of them. She tells the perfect "girls stories". I was always able to find one character in each book that was my favorite. They definitely stand up to re-reads.
May 12, 2008
Once again a rags to riches story. This one left me extremely envious as I often fantasized about a Hollywood producer one day discovering me and casting me on the spot. I've yet to see my name in lights.
October 11, 2011
I definitely have a Streatfeild addiction. Okay, maybe it’s more like nostalgic love. I like Movie Shoes because the plot gets varied a bit and because it contains what I choose to interpret as a veiled jab at the butchering of stories in movie adaptations. [Nov. 2008]
June 11, 2020
About how an untalented middle child with talented siblings gets to unexpectedly star in a movie,but despite having jealousy about never being the important one in the family,she doesn't really enjoy acting.
June 2, 2012
This one is somewhat odd, with a rather unlikable child (Jane) who is described as "black doggish" countless times. A strange family dynamic, with mother's friend living with the family. Describes the making of the film "The Secret Garden." A little different, but enjoyable.
April 15, 2018
I like it but probably would have loved it had I read it - or other books in the series - as a child. My rating falls somewhere between three and four stars. (I like to think I'll find the time to read Ballet Shoes soon.)
June 17, 2013
When I was a child, I never really thought about how strange it was that Bee's school friend moved in to help her raise her family. Now that I'm an adult and have read Savage Love a time or two, it seems kind of polyamorous.
January 2, 2015
I liked Jane, the girl who was in the movie. This is my second (and last) Streatfeild. I'm just not enthused enough about the writing. I am too old to get these books, I think. There's not enough time anymore. I wish I liked 'em better, but they strike me as sweet and stale as day old cakes.
February 12, 2008
This one is my favorite of the shoes books. You have to read the Secret Garden first.
April 13, 2008
This book definitely fueled my imagination -- and made me want to be in movies -- when I was young.
November 12, 2008
I am enjoying Noel Streatfeild's books more now than I did when I was a child. I could not relate to her type A career driven children when I was young.
May 6, 2009
Yes, I did re-read all of these in one stretch. Streatfield catches the feel for post-war America and Hollywood fairly well. I don't think she would recognize Santa Monica in 2009.
April 29, 2015
The Painted Garden--the original title--was my favorite book when I was little. I read it so many times, the cover fell off. Such a wonderful voice Streatfeild has with her narratives!
October 21, 2013
read all of the Shoes books but this was my favorite. the movie in the book was The Secret Garden, and I loved that book too. fascinated to hear about the behind the scenes stuff.
February 17, 2016
A good understanding of children and what they think and their motivations. Also a good book for children to read who have problems socializing with their peers.
June 5, 2021
This book is very much a “wish fulfillment” story for children, especially girls who aspire to be professional dancers or child actors. As in the other “shoe” books, the children, although talented, must work through challenges and develop life skills, such as patience, to succeed. Young readers should also note that their parents or guardians need to be supportive, adults in their lives need to have connections, and they also need good old-fashioned luck.
In this story, siblings Rachel (12), Jane (10), and Tim (8), all students at Mme. Fidolia’s Academy, reluctantly move to Los Angeles for their father’s health. They are staying at an aunt’s house on the beach, poor things, and endure home schooling. They love the wonderful food and weather there as compared to London’s cold, foggy and rainy clime, where food rations are still in effect as England recovers from WWII. Los Angeles seems a paradise. Plus, Lo and Behold, Jane, the contrary one, who, unlike her musical prodigy brother and pretty, talented dancer sister, meets neighbors who just happen to be casting a girl to play Mary in a film of The Secret Garden because a famous child actress is suddenly unavailable. They choose Jane because she, like the Mary they envision, is contrary, critical, rude, and more plain than pretty. Jane can memorize quickly, a plus. Jane gets the part, and now formerly unwelcoming, wealthy Aunt Cora is pleased to be a Hollywood insider and to hang around the movie set. The family feels less like the needy, poor relations they have been.
The children need to earn their own pocket money, and that is why Jane is eager to do the work, however tedious it becomes. She also wants to shine, for once, in her family. Tim plays piano for a restaurant, then moves up to radio. Pauline from Ballet Shoes reaches out to Rachel, they bond, and Rachel’s dancing career moves forward. Their father, a writer, recovers and is happier than he’s been for a long time. The mother? She’s just a homemaker so no career is in play for her. She’s just ever so pleased that her loved ones are doing well and that their severe lack of money is lessening.
There are stereotypes (in addition to the mother) in the book, which is firmly set in the 1950’s. Aunt Cora’s Black maid is fat, happy, old, jolly, wise, and capable. Italian restaurant owners match stereotypical speech and mannerisms, and Maurice, a spoiled child actor who makes Jane miserable, and his doting stage mother, are also straight from central casting. Nevertheless, these flaws are forgivable in a book written so long ago. The story is still delightful. Parents might point out the “types” of certain individuals to young readers.
A note about Jane: a child with her characteristics and behaviors might be “on the spectrum” in today’s parlance… perhaps Asperger’s Syndrome. Possibly Tim as well.
Quotes: Tim could not believe he had an aunt so dead to decency that she could live without a piano. (p. 39)
On board the Mauretania, sailing to the US: "We may not all be equally talented but we can all be equally nice people." (mother said). Jane said no more. She climbed into her bunk with indignation sticking out all over her. (p. 61)
The series is recommended.
In this story, siblings Rachel (12), Jane (10), and Tim (8), all students at Mme. Fidolia’s Academy, reluctantly move to Los Angeles for their father’s health. They are staying at an aunt’s house on the beach, poor things, and endure home schooling. They love the wonderful food and weather there as compared to London’s cold, foggy and rainy clime, where food rations are still in effect as England recovers from WWII. Los Angeles seems a paradise. Plus, Lo and Behold, Jane, the contrary one, who, unlike her musical prodigy brother and pretty, talented dancer sister, meets neighbors who just happen to be casting a girl to play Mary in a film of The Secret Garden because a famous child actress is suddenly unavailable. They choose Jane because she, like the Mary they envision, is contrary, critical, rude, and more plain than pretty. Jane can memorize quickly, a plus. Jane gets the part, and now formerly unwelcoming, wealthy Aunt Cora is pleased to be a Hollywood insider and to hang around the movie set. The family feels less like the needy, poor relations they have been.
The children need to earn their own pocket money, and that is why Jane is eager to do the work, however tedious it becomes. She also wants to shine, for once, in her family. Tim plays piano for a restaurant, then moves up to radio. Pauline from Ballet Shoes reaches out to Rachel, they bond, and Rachel’s dancing career moves forward. Their father, a writer, recovers and is happier than he’s been for a long time. The mother? She’s just a homemaker so no career is in play for her. She’s just ever so pleased that her loved ones are doing well and that their severe lack of money is lessening.
There are stereotypes (in addition to the mother) in the book, which is firmly set in the 1950’s. Aunt Cora’s Black maid is fat, happy, old, jolly, wise, and capable. Italian restaurant owners match stereotypical speech and mannerisms, and Maurice, a spoiled child actor who makes Jane miserable, and his doting stage mother, are also straight from central casting. Nevertheless, these flaws are forgivable in a book written so long ago. The story is still delightful. Parents might point out the “types” of certain individuals to young readers.
A note about Jane: a child with her characteristics and behaviors might be “on the spectrum” in today’s parlance… perhaps Asperger’s Syndrome. Possibly Tim as well.
Quotes: Tim could not believe he had an aunt so dead to decency that she could live without a piano. (p. 39)
On board the Mauretania, sailing to the US: "We may not all be equally talented but we can all be equally nice people." (mother said). Jane said no more. She climbed into her bunk with indignation sticking out all over her. (p. 61)
The series is recommended.
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