Did anyone else read Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild, growing up? I read (almost) all of his shoe books: Theater Shoes, Skating Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Circus Shoes, etc. But Ballet Shoes was definitely my favorite. I read it so many times the copy is basically falling apart and at one point I had almost the whole story memorized. The story follows three orphan girls adopted by an eccentric man and raised by his niece who attend a school that trains children to be professional entertainers – with an emphasis on ballet. Pauline wants to become an actress. Petrova is hopeless at dancing, singing, and acting and wants to become a pilot. And Posy is a ballet prodigy. Even though many of you may not have heard of these characters, I thought it would be a fun marry, date or dump topic (for the girls once they are all grown up of course). If you have read the books or you just want to play along, let me know your choices in the comments.
Also wish me luck on my first day back at school today! With my schedule this semester, I think I’ll need it!
Here are my picks:
- Marry: Petrova (Even though she wasn’t my favorite character, she is by far the most sensible and the least conceited).
- Date: Pauline (She was my favorite, probably because of her blond hair. I wanted to be just like her.)
- Dump: Posy (She was my sister’s favorite, but I always thought she was kind of a priss…although perhaps with good reason.)
Alison Doherty 
I am with you Marry – Petrova, Date Pauline and Dump Posy — although that is the reverse order of how I liked them when reading the books. Maybe you have to the youngest to understand Posy.
I realize that is the obvious answer since Petrova is much more grounded than the other two — but like you — my favorite was always Pauline — maybe it is the oldest sister syndrome. I also thought Pauline was very good at looking out for other people…
So – I would marry Pauline, date Posy (she could would probably know lots of fun people) and dump Petrova.
Oh this is a tough one! I love Ballet Shoes, it was my favourite book growing up. Like you I had it pretty much off by heart!