When the November/December issue of AAA World arrived in the mail (it's free with membership), I immediately thought of Betsy Ray's trip to Oberammergau in Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace (illustrated by Vera Neville; 1952). The cover story is about that small Bavarian village, famous for its Passion Play; I wonder if it's changed much since Betsy was there in the spring of 1914. I am a great fan of Betsy-Tacy (although I have yet to join the Society), and this book was one of my favorites in the series. Unfortunately, it's out of print again. But if I ever make it to Oberammergau (or Sonneberg, for that matter), it will be because of Betsy.
Miss Malaprop
I'm rereading Little Women for my neighborhood book club (we're reading it together with March by Geraldine Brooks). I must have been younger than Amy when I first read Little Women; I've reread it (or parts of it) countless times since then. It's like an old friend to me.
That said, I had forgotten how irritating Amy's malapropisms can be. They start on p.3 with "label" for "libel" and don't stop until Amy goes abroad (at least I hope they stop by then. I haven't gotten that far yet). She's the literary forerunner of Junie B. Jones, for goodness' snake! And all the other fictional children who too-frequently mistake one word for another (Clementine, I'm talking to you). As far as I'm concerned, it's only funny when my kids do it. Not to worry, though: I won't quote them here.
Shoes News
From last week's PW Children's Bookshelf (8/21/08):
"Noel Streatfeild's 1936 novel Ballet Shoes, which was adapted by the BBC and shown in Britain earlier this year, has been picked up by Screenvision to be shown in U.S. theaters, according to Variety. The feature-length film reunites three actors from the Harry Potter movies: Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley) and Gemma Jones (Poppy Pomfrey). Limited release begins August 26, and a DVD will follow."
Emma Watson plays Pauline. The movie is playing in two local theaters, but I think I'll wait for its release on DVD next week (9/2/08), if only because I can't find anyone who'll see it with me. Actually, I'm not at all sure that I'll like it. Unlike The Golden Compass, Ballet Shoes (the book) was a childhood favorite, my favorite of all the Shoes books I read. Sometimes I liked Posy best, sometimes prickly Petrova, but eventually I grew to appreciate (if not identify with) pretty actress Pauline.
I was also delighted to discover that there are Shoes books I haven't read! This website is an excellent source of information about, and analysis of Noel Streatfeild's books for children (and adults). Many of them are hard to find now, and I'm sadly missing my childhood copy of Skating Shoes (my next favorite; used copies of the Dell Yearling paperback I had are available on Amazon starting at $43.45). But Oxford Children's Classics has a beautiful new edition of Party Shoes that I'd love to get my hands on. In the meantime, I'll just have to get out my worn-out copy of Ballet Shoes.
What are your favorite Shoes?