Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfield - ADVISABLE

Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, 281 pages. Random House, 2018 (Reprint). $17. 9780525578642.

Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: EL - HIGH, MS - AVERAGE

Harriet's doctor recommends she take up skating as a way to rebuild her strength after a long illness. She meets Lalla, a young skating ingenue, her first day at the rink and they become fast friends; Lalla's well-off family ends up including Harriet as a partner to Lalla's schooling, skating, and many other adventures. But when Harriet's skating begins to take off at the same time Lalla's faces some real struggles, the two friends will have to find a way to overcome the obstacle and see if their friendship can survive.

This is a classic children's novel first published in 1951 and I think the story really does still hold up. Its 100% clean reading and the kind of story I personally loved as a young girl. The writing does strike me as being more of an upper elementary fit, but middle school readers could appreciate it, too. This particular version has a really lovely cover that would also make it a great gift.

Reviewer: TC

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