Let's Bust a Recap : Skating Shoes

Skating Shoes was on my 2022 book list, but was one of four books from that list I didn't get around to reading last year. I was intentionally saving it for the end of the year because ice skating evokes all things Christmas-y to me, but between getting sick—twice!—and watching the World Cup, I didn't manage to pick this one up. It ended up being the perfect February read though, and all my thanks to Amy for choosing a book off my 2023 list for book club. 

If you missed out on my Ballet Shoes recap from a couple years ago, pause and go read it real quick. I'll wait. 

Are you back? If you—like me—are not one to follow explicit instructions, the main point is: I have acquired and begun reading Noel Streatfeild's Shoe Books solely on the recommendation of You've Got Mail's Kathleen Kelly. 

And I'm loving them. 

In Streatfeild's 1951 Skating Shoes, we meet the Johnson family who are barely making ends meet by living off the unwanted produce their Uncle William sends them to sell in the store. Harriet Johnson, our shy little protagonist, has been seriously ill, and her doctor recommends ice skating as a way to strengthen her legs after her long confinement. Her big brother Alec takes up a paper route so they can afford for Harriet to rent her skates, and off she goes to the rink where she ends up befriending Lalla Moore who is destined—according to her Aunt Claudia—to follow in her late father's footsteps and become a champion figure skater. The book follows this unlikely friendship as Lalla helps Harriet on the ice, and Harriet invites lonely Lalla into her happy family. 

Ballet Shoes was delightful, but I loved Skating Shoes. The way the Johnson family interacted in the book was a thing of joy, and watching all the adults in Lalla's life—her nurse, her tutor, her skating coach, even her Aunt Claudia's husband Uncle David—care for her well-being, despite Aunt Claudia's well-intentioned but misplaced goals for Lalla, was heartwarming. I love a book that makes me giggle, and Skating Shoes provides merriment for days. I particularly found the Johnsons' reactions to littlest brother Edward's lovable but insufferable remarks hilarious. This would be a fun read-aloud with the children in your life, and I highly recommend it. 

Yes, Kathleen Kelly, Skating Shoes is completely wonderful, and it's easily my favorite of the two Shoe Books I've read so far, though it's not as widely acclaimed as Ballet Shoes is. We'll see how it holds up once I've read my other two Shoe Books, but I have a hard time believing either of them could top this one. 

Which one next: Theater Shoes or Dancing Shoes?