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Felicity's Dancing Shoes (American Girl: Short Stories) by Valerie Tripp

 

Summary (from the publisher): Felicity discovers the secret to graceful dancing after she borrows her sister Nan's pretty-but painful-shoes.

Review: After being called clumsy during dancing lessons, Felicity makes a bargain with her little sister Nan. Nan will let Felicity wear her brocade shoes to dance lessons, in exchange for teaching her the dances when Felicity gets home from lessons. While the shoes are far too tight, they seem to work! Felicity is improving. But then a mishap with the shoes leads to her having to go back to wearing her everyday shoes and Felicity fears her days of more graceful dancing are at an end. 

First, I was impressed that Felicity was able to squeeze her feet into her little sister's shoes. And impressed at her ingenuity to figure out a way to not be made fun of for her shoes anymore, and her sister's means of getting the dance lessons she desperately wants. It was a good secret bargain between sisters! This was much tamer than many of Felicity's exploits in other books. She doesn't risk her life or safety or even sneak out of the house after dark once! Really the only thing at risk are her sister's mint condition brocade shoes.

I also loved the lesson Felicity learns in the end - the key to getting better at something in life is indeed the practice and not the accessories. This is a wonderful life lesson for young readers presented in a realistic and relatable way. As always, I really appreciate the "peak into the past" section at the end of the story, that delves into the real-life history that inspired the Valerie Tripp's fiction. This one inspired some good conversation about how different the opportunities and schooling was for young girls during the time period compared to today. My daughters were shocked that girls didn't really go to school at the time and weren't expected to have careers outside of the home. This is such a great way to start introducing history in a fun format. 

This is my last Felicity short story, having read all six regular length Felicity books and the other short stories. I have so enjoyed rereading them with my two young daughters. I will miss Felicity and all the characters in this series!

Stars: 4

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