Sadie and the Silver Shoes

PreS-Gr 2—Little Sadie is the younger sister of three brothers and the recipient of multiple hand-me-downs. Because the only clothes she chooses for herself are underwear and shoes, her dearest possession is a pair of sparkly silver shoes. During a fun-filled family picnic, she follows her brothers across a rock-filled stream, and one of her new, just-a-bit-large shoes escapes with the fish into the wild. With minimal use of pen and scenes of collage and watercolor, the views of Sadie present her distress over the loss and then emphasize her ability to assert herself as she appears wearing both her favorite silver shoe and one of another color. Readers can follow the lost shoe from home to school, through a forested outdoors, across a rocky beach, and luckily right to the side of Sadie's best friend Ellie, the newest student in Sadie's school. Dialogue and text highlight images of children interacting in play and a developing friendship between the girls that encourages them to wear their shoes everywhere—each sporting a single sparkly shoe. This suggested general purchase for all libraries will resonate with young readers.