After losing their mother, Rachel and her adopted sister Hilary move in with their aunt, Cora Wintle. Cora runs a dancing school in London, and she thinks that Hilary would be perfect for her dancing troupe, Wintle's Little Wonders! The only problem is that Hilary might be as good as Cora's own precious daughter, Dulcie. Still, Cora is determined to make sulky Rachel and sprightly Hilary members of her dance troupe.

But Rachel doesn't want to be a Little Wonder! She can't dance and feels silly in her the ruffly costume. Nothing seems to be going as planned, until Rachel discovers her talent for acting. . . .

This classic children's book is perfect for kids who dream of being on stage, whether it be dancing or acting.

After losing their mother, Rachel and her adopted sister Hilary move in with their aunt, Cora Wintle. Cora runs a dancing school in London, and she thinks that Hilary would be perfect for her dancing troupe, Wintle's Little Wonders! The only problem is that Hilary might be as good as Cora's own precious daughter, Dulcie. Still, Cora is determined to make sulky Rachel and sprightly Hilary members of her dance troupe.

But Rachel doesn't want to be a Little Wonder! She can't dance and feels silly in her the ruffly costume. Nothing seems to be going as planned, until Rachel discovers her talent for acting. . . .

This classic children's book is perfect for kids who dream of being on stage, whether it be dancing or acting.

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. ( )

Two girls, Rachel and her foster sister Hilary are sent to live with Rachel's Uncle Tom and Aunt Cora. They have one child, Dulcie who is a conceited little brat dancer. Hilary dances as well, but Rachel would rather read or act. Rachel is forced to dance even though she hates it. ( )

This is my favourite of Noel Streatfeild's 'Shoes' books, and has been ever since I read it years ago.

Partly it's because of the story of the plain, talentless Rachel, who eventually finds her own talent and happiness (being the plain sister can be pretty awful). However, it's not just about Rachel finding her own place, but also about her realising that not only can she not run her sister's life, but also she can't expect Hilary to live her life according to what her dead parents 'would have wanted'.

I also liked Hilary as a character, not because she's the pretty, lively one, but because she quite obviously knows what she wants - and it's not what everyone else thinks she ought to want. Hilary is quite cleverly written as one of the those people who are quite happy to go with flow - just until something comes up that is sufficiently important to them. We don't get to find out what Hilary really wants until the end, and that's something else that I liked. Hilary states that she wants to "get married and have lots of babies" instead of having a great career on the stage, and I like that Streatfeild puts that in. Streatfeild's heroines are usually career girls (women), and I think it's valuable that just this once, being a wife and mother is regarded as a worthy role for a woman. Girls today get bombarded with how they should "have it all". What's wrong with picking either home and family or career, and doing it to the full? Women's rights should be the right to choose for yourself, not the right to have your career path chosen for you by feminists instead of men. OK, rant over.

Even the loud, pushing Mrs Wintle isn't totally bad - she's a working woman running a business, and taking on the lion's share of the household expenses. She can't afford to add two children who do nothing to contribute, so of course Hilary and Rachel must join her dance troupe. There is also a real feeling that Mrs Wintle honestly can't understand why Rachel doesn't want to be a Little Wonder, or why anyone wouldn't want to. And besides, when you're running a business, 'want to' is a bit of a luxury anyway...

This is one of those books that has survived on my bookshelves, and it's as readable and and enjoyable for me now as it was when I first read it. What more can you say about a book? ( )