Noel Streatfeild was born in Amberley, Sussex in 1895. Her first novel, Ballet Shoes, is her best-known book but she went on to write many well-loved books for children, including Circus Shoes which won the Carnegie Medal in 1938. In 1983 she was honoured for her contribution to children's publishing when she was awarded an OBE. She died in 1986.
Noel Streatfeild has that happy, skillful knack of turning her characters into real people – something which only really good novelists can do. A first-rate book * BBC Children’s Hour * Noel Streatfeild’s position in the children’s book world is unique. She is endlessly inventive, full of verve and real understanding of the surfaces of childhood. Her stories are rich in documentary interest and entertainment, escapism of a most satisfying sort * Times Literary Supplement *