Noel Streatfeild has the faculty of taking her readers backstage with an ease which gives them the feeling of first-hand experience whether it be in a dramatic school or the world of amateur tennis, and she adds the advantage of letting them see it through the eyes of children who are distinct personalities. In ["Circus Shoes,"] she gives a special fillip of interest through the inexperience of two young protagonists….

The gradual development of their characters is as amusing and interesting as is this account of that world compounded of glitter, hard work and loyalty which the author describes with a knowledge and understanding gained on tour with a real circus—a Summer well spent indeed, as a vivid and entertaining book testifies.

Ellen Lewis Buell, "The New Books for Younger Readers: 'Circus Shoes'," in The New York Times Book Review (© 1939 by The New York Times Company; reprinted...