Ballet Shoes

Goldbacher, Sandra (dir.). Ballet Shoes. New York: Koch Entertainment, 2007.

Plot Summary: After the death of her parents, Sylvia and her governess Nana move in with her only surviving relative, uncle Gum. Gum is a paleontologist and travels most of her life in his London home. He does send postcards, as well as baby girls. The result of his philanthropy is the Fossil girls, Pauline, Petrova and Posy. Each girl has a dream, Pauline hopes to be an actress, Petrova an aviator and Posy a ballerina. The family of women fall into financial trouble, and Sylvia decides to take on boarders. The boarders open up a world of possibilities for all the Fossils, including Sylvia, and lead them on the road to fulfilling their dreams.

Critical Evaluation: The movie is a well done presentation of the 1920s through set design and costumes, as well as representations of theatre and movie productions of the age. The girls are easy to relate to as each girl has a unique personality and ambition. However, some kids may think the movie is boring. There isn't much action, as it is more of a drama.

Reader's Annotation: Follow the Fossil sisters as they vow to make names for themselves in post-WWI London on the stage, in film and in the sky.

Author Bio: Sandra Goldbacher was also director of Seventeen, Me Without You and The Governess, starring Minnie Driver and Tom Wilkinson. The Governess was also Goldbacher's screenwriting debut. The all-star cast features Potter veterans Emma Watson (Pauline Fossil), Richard Griffiths (Great Uncle Matthew, or GUM), and Gemma Jones (Dr. Jakes). Marc Warren recently starred in Wanted alongside Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman as The Repairman. Emilia Fox featured in the popular short film turned full length movie Cashback, and will soon be appearing in the film adaptation of The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

Genre: Historical Fiction, coming of age

Curriculum Ties: A good film to watch while studying WWI life outside of and post-war.

Booktalking Ideas: Pair this with the book by Noel Streatfeild by showing the preview, or a select scene or two. A scene in which the sisters make one of their vows to get into the history books would be a good way to intrigue tweens, get them to want to find out if they keep their vow.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 10 and up, Grades 5-8

Challenges: None

Reason for including: I purchased this movie when it came out, being a fan of Emma Watson. I hadn't heard of Ballet Shoes (the novel) before seeing the movie. I thought the movie was a good tween movie, since the characters are in their tweens and deal with age-appropriate issues.