#99

Party Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Somehow I missed this one when I was growing up.  I devoured many others in the Streatfield's "Shoes" books. It's World War II in England.  Selina's parents are in an internment camp in the Far East so she is living with cousins in rural England.  She receives a package from her godmother which contains a beautiful party dress and shoes.Of course there's no place to wear them.  The children hit upon the idea of staging a pageant that will allow Selina to wear the dress and shoes.  Over the course of the year, the children write and rehearse the pageant which grows from a small production to one involving what seems like a cast of 1000s.  It's not one of Streatfield's more engaging books, and I never really connected with any of the characters.  I do enjoy the descriptions of the mundane events of life:  tea, chores, school tasks, etc.  I also enjoy her writing style and tone, very "stiff upper lip" and proper.  It probably won't appeal to most of the readers in my class because it is dated.  But a few might enjoy it.


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