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Curtain Up (novel) facts for kids

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Curtain Up
Curtain Up cover.jpg
First edition
Author Noel Streatfeild
Illustrator D. L. Mays
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Publisher J. M. Dent & Sons
Publication date
1944
Media type Print
Pages 288 pp

Curtain Up is a children's book by British author Noel Streatfeild. It tells the story of a family involved in theatre. The book first came out in 1944. Sometimes, it's called Theatre Shoes (or Theater Shoes in the US). This is because it reminds people of Streatfeild's very popular book, Ballet Shoes.

About the Story

Curtain Up follows three siblings: Sorrel, Mark, and Holly Forbes. Their father goes missing during the war. Then, their grandfather passes away. The children move to London to live with their grandmother. She used to be an actress. She sends them to a special school. It's called the Children's Academy for Dancing and Stage Training. The children really don't want to go.

But soon, they find out they have hidden talents! Sorrel is great at acting. Mark has a wonderful singing voice. Holly is good at dancing and doing impressions. It seems being on stage is in their family.

The book also features the Fossil sisters. They are characters from Streatfeild's book Ballet Shoes. Each Fossil sister helps the Forbes children. They give them scholarships for school. Pauline helps Sorrel, Petrova helps Mark, and Posy helps Holly. The Fossil girls also write letters to the Forbes children.

Later, the Forbes' cousin, Miriam, joins the school. She is an amazing dancer. Posy decides to help Miriam too. She also starts writing to Miriam instead of Holly. We learn from these letters that Pauline and Posy are now working in Hollywood. Posy and her teacher had to leave Czechoslovakia because of the war.

Main Characters

Sorrel Forbes

Sorrel is the oldest of the Forbes siblings. She has a natural talent for acting. She usually wears her hair in braids. Sorrel is very responsible. She looks after her younger brother and sister. At first, she didn't know she could act. But by the end of the book, she wants to become an actress. She often competes for acting roles with her cousin, Miranda. Pauline writes to Sorrel after she gets her scholarship.

Mark Forbes

Mark is the middle child. He doesn't want to be a performer at first. But he is very good at singing. He doesn't like it when people call his family "Warren." He prefers the Forbes name. Mark wants to be a sailor, like his father. He really dislikes singing, even though he's talented. By the end of the book, he goes back to his old boarding school. Petrova writes to Mark after his sisters get their scholarships.

Holly Forbes

Holly is the youngest and most playful. People hoped she would be a great dancer. But she doesn't have the dancing talent that Posy Fossil was looking for. However, Holly is very good at doing impressions. Posy Fossil was also known for her impressions in Ballet Shoes. For a while, Holly is jealous of her cousin Miriam's special case. She even takes one belonging to her other cousin, Miranda. Posy first writes to Holly. But she stops when Miriam's talent is discovered. Still, Posy keeps giving Holly a scholarship. This is so Holly's feelings are not hurt.

Connections to Other Books

This book is not a direct sequel to Ballet Shoes. But it does mention the Fossil girls. They are now grown up. The Forbes children also go to the same school as the Fossil girls did.

One of Sorrel's acting parts is Ariel. This character is from the play The Tempest.

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