more on Emma's tv show synopsis.Ballet Shoes.

Ballet Shoes tells the story of Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil, who were adopted as babies by Great Uncle Matthew (or "Gum"). Pauline was the only survivor from a shipwrecked boat, Petrova the orphaned child of a Russian couple, and Posy the daughter of a widowed ballet dancer. They are looked after by Gum's great-niece, Sylvia, and her old nurse, Nana.

When Gum goes away on an extended journey, money becomes tight, and Syliva decides to take in boarders. Two of the boarders, Doctor Smith and Doctor Jakes, take over the education of the children (much to the relief of Sylvia, who had been teaching them herself when she could no longer afford to send them to school.)

Doctor Jakes tells Pauline that "the three of you might make the name of Fossil really important, really worth while, and if you do, it's all your own." As a result of this, the three sisters make a vow: "We three Fossils vow to try and put our names in history books because it's our very own and nobody can say it's because of our grandfathers."

Another boarder, Theo Dane, is a ballet teacher at The Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. After seeing Posy dance, she arranges for the head of the school, Madame Fidolia, to train them free of charge. This means that as each child reaches the age of twelve, she will be able to work professionally on the stage.

Pauline soon shows talent as an actress, while Posy is clearly a gifted ballerina. Petrova, however, would rather spend time working with Mr Simpson (another of the boarders) in his garage. As the story progresses, first Pauline and then Petrova reach the age of twelve and get parts in various plays, while Posy becomes more and more focussed on her dancing.
Despite their different talents, the Fossil sisters have an intense loyalty to each other, and to Sylvia and Nana, and much of the driving force of the novel is the need to earn enough money to keep the family going. Pauline and Petrova are both willing to make sacrifices for the family (Petrova by not telling Sylvia how much she hates acting; Pauline by taking up a film contract, rather than the stage career she desires). Posy has the extreme self-centredness of most of Noel's dancers, and it would never even occur to her to compromise her own career, but we nevertheless feel that the family unit is very important to her.

Noel Streatfeild and her sisters are not the only children who have been fascinated by the lives of "child stars", and by taking the knowledge she gained from her years as an actress, and wrapping it up in an engaging tale of three children who "come alive" to readers, Noel has created a story that appears to have timeless appeal.

cheers.H.Jean.Potter