Most Popular Books by Noel Streatfeild

Three orphan girls. A pair of pink slippers. A lifetime in the spotlight. Read the classic that has captivated generations! Pauline, Petrova, and Posy love their quiet life together. They are orphans who have been raised as sisters, and when their new family needs money, the girls want to help. They decide to join the Children''s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training to earn their keep. Each girl works hard following her dream. Pauline is destined for the movies. Posy is a born dancer. And Petrova? She finds she''d rather be a pilot than perform a pirouette. This beautiful children''s classic is perfect for girls who love to dream about ballet, friendship, and finding their own special talents. Adult readers may remember them as the "Shoes" books from You''ve Got Mail!

The author of children’s classic ‘Ballet Shoes’ delights with a best-loved story of ice skating rivalry...

A beautiful gift edition of the beloved classic about two orphan sisters and their newfound love of theater and dance. 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. And don''t miss the other classic Noel Streatfeild titles, Ballet Shoes, Skating Shoes, and Theater Shoes!

A beautiful gift edition of the beloved classic about three orphan siblings and their love of music, theater, and dance. When orphans Sorrel, Mark, and Holly are sent to live with their grandmother, a famous English actress, she enrolls them in the Children''s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, the same Academy that made the orphans from Ballet Shoes famous so long ago. It''s the chance of a lifetime, but the Academy won''t give the children the "proper" education their parents would have wanted. However, the children learn to love the Academy when they find out that Sorrel has dramatic flair, Mark can sing, and Holly charms everyone with her adorable impish ways. Maybe talent does run in the family. This classic children''s book is perfect for kids who dream of being on stage--dancing, singing, or acting. Don''t miss the other classic Noel Streatfeild books, Ballet Shoes, Skating Shoes, and Dancing Shoes!

A NEW COLLECTION OF HOLIDAY STORIES BY THE BELOVED AUTHOR OF BALLET SHOES. PERFECT READING FOR LONG SUMMER DAYS. In this captivating new collection, there are stories for every reader to enjoy: unforgettable holidays and unlikely friendships, crime-solving adventures and dancers in the spotlight for the very first time. Originally written for annuals and magazines from the 1930s-70s, these newly discovered stories will be treasured by Noel Streatfeild fans of all ages. Featuring beautiful illustrations by PETER BAILEY Stories include: The Plain One Devon Mettle Chicken for Supper Flag''s Circus The Secret Coralie Ordinary Me Cows Eat Flowers Andrew''s Trout The Old Fool Let''s Go Coaching Howard The Quiet Holiday Roberta Green Silk

For the first time ever in the United States, the "Shoes" books are available as ebooks! Travel with the circus in Noel Streatfeild''s beloved classic. Peter and Santa are orphans. They know they have an uncle, Gus, who travels with the circus, so they decide to run away to find him. And soon the traveling circus becomes their home! See the circus--the liberty horses, sea lions, dogs, and elephants--through the eyes of this young brother and sister in this classic story! Noel Streatfeild''s "Shoes" books are some of the most popular of the thirty-eight books she wrote for children.

For the first time ever in the United States, the "Shoes" books are available as ebooks! Go behind the scenes of a movie in this beloved classic! 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 role of Mary in The Secret Garden. No one''s ever noticed Jane before. Could this be the chance of a lifetime? Noel Streatfeild''s "Shoes" books are some of the most popular of the thirty-eight books she wrote for children.

SUMMARY: A dance teacher explains ballet techniques to her young pupils and includes in the lessons the history of ballet, stories of the great dancers, and discussions of famous ballets.

''The wonderful Noel Streatfeild''s Christmas Stories collects, for the first time, nine festive stories originally written for annuals and magazines in the 1940s and 1950s . . . As ever, Streatfeild''s children always feel utterly real and relatable. A beautifully produced treat'' Anna Carey, Irish Times In this captivating collection of stories by the author of Ballet Shoes, there are auditions on stage and antics on ice, trips to the pantomime, holiday adventures, and laughter shared with family and friends. Charming, heartwarming and funny, this collection will bring joy to readers of all ages. Originally written in 1940s-60s for annuals, magazines and the radio, these stories have never been collected before. With enchanting line drawings by by Peter Bailey. Stories include: The Audition The Bells Keep Twelfth Night The Moss Rose Thimble The Princess The Chain Christmas at Collers The Pantomime Goose Skating to the Stars

Christmas with the Chrystals is a gorgeous short story about how an influx of cheery young cousins at Christmas warms the heart of a haughty grandmother and lights up her chilly home. This very special Yuletide story is accompanied by several Streatfeild Christmas extracts from her many children''s novels, including an (almost) never-before-seen sequel chapter to her bestseller Ballet Shoes. There are also recollections of the author''s own childhood Christmases (taken from the Noel Streatfeild Christmas Holiday Book).

A thrilling, classic children’s adventure with a courageous heroine, from the beloved author of Ballet Shoes.

Theatre Shoes is part of the wonderful ''Shoes'' series of adventures for children by Noel Streatfeild. Every family has its secrets, but it was a huge surprise to the three young Forbeses, fresh from a country vicarage, to discover that their grandmother was a famous actress. Sent to live with her in bombed-out, wartime London, they soon discovered that they were expected to follow in the family footsteps - to the footlights -! As an actress herself, Noel Streatfeild was familiar with all the details of the backstage world of the theatre. She has created an authentic, perceptive and vivid picture of theatrical life - from stage school to auditions to performances. Reissued in ''A Puffin Book'' series of Puffin modern classics, along with Ballet Shoes, Circus Shoes and Tennis Shoes, all by Noel Streatfeild.

A skating champion. An unlikely friendship. A fateful pair of white boots. Read the classic that has captivated generations! It''s a stroke of great luck when Harriet Johnson’s doctor prescribes skating after an illness that has left her feeling frail and listless. For on her very first day at the rink, Harriet meets orphaned Lalla Moore, who is being brought up by her wealthy aunt Claudia to be a skating champion. Although they have little in common, the girls form a fast friendship. Harriet is energized by talented, funny Lalla, and Lalla in turn blossoms under the affection of openhearted Harriet. The girls skate together more and more. But just as Lalla’s interest in skating starts to fade, Harriet’s natural talent begins to emerge. Suddenly Lalla and Harriet seem headed in two very different directions. Can their friendship survive? This beloved children''s classic is the perfect gift for girls who dream of spending days at the ice rink and becoming a figure skating champion. Adult readers may remember the "Shoes" books from You''ve Got Mail!

Near the end of the Second World War, Selina receives a parcel from America that contains a beautiful party dress and shoes. But her excitement turns to sorrow when she realizes she''ll never have a chance to wear the beautiful dress, until she and her cousins decide to organize a pageant.

Margaret Thursday, the unforgettable heroine of Thursday’s Child stars in this classic children’s adventure from Noel Streatfeild, the beloved author of Ballet Shoes.

Young, naive and too kind for her own good, Rose falls for a young Brigadier with a colourful history. Soon after their fling ends he drops a baby off on her doorstep begging her to raise it for his latest mistress. Tender hearted Rosie nurtures the baby into a sophisticated young woman called Marmie – alongside two other baby girls dropped off by the Brigadier – Daisy, a natural born dancer, and Tania who aspires to be a mechanic. But raising three growing girls on very little money after the war is an impossible task, so the girls find a way to earn their keep through a life on the stage. Revealing the toil a dancer goes through backstage and the friendship and love needed to survive it, The Whicharts is an exceptional inter-war novel from Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfeild.

Helen Blair is famous for her dinner parties. She hand picks her guests to ensure that every evening is a success, and tonight’s will be the most memorable dinner party of all . . . An hour after the sparkling evening comes to a close, one of the women takes her own life. There was no indication of her unhappiness during the evening, and this unexpected suicide sends shockwaves through the other guests. As each guest tries to uncover the truth and motive behind this death the narrative unfolds like a multi-stranded detective story. The Silent Speaker is a tragic and enthralling story of suicide from Carnegie Medal winning author, Noel Streatfeild.

Tired of being world citizens, traveling with their brother on his tours as a violin prodigy, three children plot to find a home of their own and discover careers of their own in films and ballet.

Emily Huckwell spent almost her entire life working for one family. Born in a tiny Sussex village in the 1870s, she went into domestic service in the Burton household before she was twelve, earning £5 a year. She began as a nursery maid, progressing to under nurse and then head nanny, looking after two generations of children. One of the children in her care was the father of Noel Streatfeild, the author of Ballet Shoes and one of the best-loved children''s writers of the 20th century. Basing her story on fact and family legend, Noel Streatfeild here tells Emily''s story, and with her characteristic warmth and intimacy creates a fascinating portrait of Victorian and Edwardian life above and below stairs.

Christmas is disrupted by the death of a distant relative in the vicarage . . . but with death comes a substantial inheritance for David, Catherine and their nine children. Catherine resolves to send her eldest children, Edras and Tobit, to a preparatory school and she hires a governess for her younger children. Miss Crosby is a passionate woman striving for women’s emancipation – including emancipation for young and clever Judith from the constraints of marriage . . . But as the First World War erupts the family approaches catastrophe, can all nine children emerge from it unscathed? Carnegie Medal winning Noel Streatfeild showcases courage and endurance in her family wartime novel, Parson’s Nine.

Adela Framley seems to be a perfect citizen. She’s a proud mother, she runs a charity for homes which have been bombed and wants to hold a dinner party in aid of the charity’s patron, Gardiner Penrose. But are there dark motives behind her good actions? Adela invites a curious mixture of friends and family to a fancy restaurant nearby and over the course of the dinner party we move between each guest’s daily troubles and anxieties . . . until a catastrophic event puts an end to their soiree. Carnegie Award winning author Noel Streatfeild takes us on a thought-provoking tour of tragedy and family life in wartime London in her poignant novel, I Ordered a Table for Six.

''Passionately, as other children collect shells, stamps or bus tickets, Judith collected kind words and kind looks dropped by Mother.'' Twelve-year-old Judith has been brought up in Europe by her mother, governess and highbrow uncles and aunts. She’s had her hand held all the way through life – even though that hand has often been cold and distant. Now she’s about to board a plane to England all alone to visit the father who abandoned her . . . Although instead of despising her distant father, Judith finds she really likes him. He treats her as an adult, his side of the family seem to enjoy her company and she finally receives the appreciation she’s always craved from her mother. But is he really as wonderful as he seems? Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfield navigates through complicated family issues in this perceptive coming of age novel, Judith.

Andrew and Freda Dawson are enjoying a happy, second marriage in the English countryside with their collective brood of three children. But their idyllic existence is shattered when Freda finds her husband dead one evening . . . It becomes apparent his death was not from natural causes and all evidence points to suicide, but there are lingering doubts about Freda’s role in the death . . . and about the possible role her precocious son Luke could have played. Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfeild delves into the cracks of a seemingly perfect marriage in her interwar family novel, Luke.

Vibrant and vivacious, Sarah Onion takes it upon herself to find employment when she is orphaned at nineteen. She becomes an integral part of Charles and Ruth Lane’s household as governess to their four small children, but at what cost? The First World War soon unleashes calamity on the whole family. Charles enlists in the army and is sent to France, Ruth’s heart disease gets increasingly worse, their youngest daughter becomes increasingly difficult to deal with and all the while Sarah is falling in love. Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfeild plunges her reader into tragedy after tragedy but always keeps a light at the end of the tunnel in her wartime family novel, A Shepherdess of Sheep.

Once fashionable and plush with flowers, post-war Mayfair has lost its dazzling charm. But that didn’t stop Charlotte Nettel and her husband Sir John from swapping life in the quiet northern countryside to convert their roomy Mayfair townhouse into flats. Their tenants come in all shapes and sizes – from pregnant couple Jack and Jenny to German migrants Paula and Heinrich – and they provide a constant stream of both entertainment and anxiety. But it’s Charlotte’s stepdaughter Penny, a disillusioned young women born into the uneasy interwar world, who proves to be the most difficult and scandalous tenant . . . Flashing between the lives of each tenant Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfeild gives us a kaleidoscopic view of post-war London in her ingenious novel, Grass in Piccadilly. For fans of Muriel Spark’s A Far Cry From Kensington.

Autobiography of the English writer growing up in a succession of pre-World War I parsonages.

Sixty-two-year-old Clara leads a virtuous life. She spends all her time helping others and she always puts her friends and family first. It’s a shame that nobody, including her four siblings and their myriad of children, ever stops to say thank you and appreciate all she does. . . . until wealthy Uncle Simon comes into her life. Like Clara, Simon never married, never had children and he lived alone – the two understood each other like no one else in the family could. So when Uncle Simon dies, and leaves very specific wishes to Clara in his will, the path of her life changes in ways she could never imagined. Thrown into the world of circuses, greyhound-racing and dubious house-property, Aunt Clara encounters bizarre incidents and an unlikely love story in this enchanting novel from Carnegie Medal winning author, Noel Streatfeild.

Summer will be different for the Gareth children this year. Their father, an epidemiologist, is ill abroad, and their mother must go to help him. So Alex, Penny, Naomi and Robin are sent to Ireland to stay with an eccentric distant relative. Great Aunt Dymphna is like nobody they''ve ever met. She lives in a ramshackle house, quotes swathes of poetry and flits about like a great bat. And, to the children''s consternation, she expects them to fend for themselves. Despite tears and many mishaps, they learn something new every day, and living with Great Aunt Dymphna becomes an adventure.

Born into a very traditional family, Caroline Torry’s childhood is ruled by patriarchy and propriety. She grows up in the gorgeous Milton Manor which has belonged to her family for generations, but the pressure to produce a male heir gradually becomes too much for her mother . . . Despite her troubled upbringing, fifteen years later Caroline has a husband and children of her own. She’s grown into a caring mother and a devoted wife determined to give her family everything that was stripped from her own childhood. But when World War One breaks out things don’t quite go to plan . . . Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfeild navigates through three stages of Caroline’s life with expert skill and finesse in her wartime novel, Caroline England.

When their father is injured in an accident, life changes for the Johnstone family. Unable to afford their home, they have to move to a small London flat. Carol can no longer go to ballet school and Tim is heartbroken as he must leave his beloved dog, Jelly, behind. Then, it seems, their wishes are granted: in an extraordinary twist of fate, Tim inherits a dilapidated country house, Caldicott Place, where the family - including Jelly - can live together. But the house is badly in need of repair and they have no money, so a solution is found - the family start to look after wealthy children in the school holidays. Although they dread the prospect of sharing their newly found home with rich spoiled children, perhaps friendships can be found in the unlikeliest places.

As her cousins find success singing and dancing on the stage, Gemma wins a coveted acting role in a local theatre production but may have to give it up when her mother makes a startling announcement.

Adolescence.