From the Review Pile (#10): Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

From the Review Pile is a meme created by Stephanie over at Stepping Out of the Page. Designed to highlight the books that we have have sitting on our review piles and tbr shelves for far too long, it gives books the little bit of extra publicity they deserve. You can find out more about the meme here and you can follow the link above to Stephanie's blog.

The meme is usually run on a Thursday but as I have a blog tour scheduled tomorrow I thought I would post a day early. 

Todays FTRP is a little different from my normal reads, which is why its still on the shelf! This book is one I've had for a little while because my sister, the one who got me into reading in the first place, bangs on about it a lot. However Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild is a classic-ish book and I don't really do many classics, not since I stopped being forced to read them (school, college university... they are to blame for my steering clear of any classics!) I do want to read this book but I have no motivation to as I feel like I should be writing an essay on it after I've read it! 

Hopefully I'll get over this and read Ballet Shoes soon because I've heard nothing but good things about it! 

unfortunately this isn't what my version looks like. 

this is my cover, no where near as nice!

Pauline, Petrova and Posy are found as orphaned babies in different parts of the world by eccentric fossil collector and explorer Gum. He adopts them, takes them to his London home and leaves them in the care of his niece Sylvia and the family Nurse. Then off he goes to continue his exploring, saying that he'll be back in five years' time. When the three little girls are old enough, they choose the surname Fossil for themselves and vow to make the name famous. At first they lead privileged and sheltered lives. But when Gum fails to return after five years, Sylvia's money begins to run out. First she is forced to take in some boarders - an engaging and eclectic mix of characters - but then she decides that the girls should go to acting school. This way they will be able to earn some money before they grow up. Pauline adores the school, as she dreams of becoming an actress. Petrova hates it, all she wants to do is learn about cars and planes and engines. Posy loves it too - she is born to be a dancer and the school is the perfect place for her.