A Flock of Shoes

March 1, 2011

K-Gr 2-Abby loves her sandals. They not only make heart shapes in the sand and allow the wind to kiss her toes, but they are perfect for running, walking, skipping, and jumping, too. In fact, come fall, she refuses to relinquish them to her mother. Then one afternoon while swinging, Abby's footwear flies off her feet and joins a band of other sandals in the sky, heading south. She misses her sandals but is mollified by the postcards from them and her brand-new boots. By February she begins to love those boots with their white and blue exterior and fuzzy purple trim. All is well until the warm spring day they march off and hop a train filled with boots headed north. As luck would have it, Abby's sandals fly in the same day, grown just wide enough to fit her feet. The drawings are a satisfying mix of color, action, and white space that brings life to the characters and the seasons. The addition of Abby's expressive puppy in nearly every illustration is a nice touch. This amusing tale that finally explains where shoes go in the off season is great fun.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2010
Preschool-G At the end of summer, Abby refuses to give up her sandals despite all her mothers reasons for letting them go. But while Abbys playing at the park, swinging higher and higher, her flip-flops slip off her feet and fly away, joining other sandals headed southward in a V formation. At first, she grudgingly puts on boots and wears them all winter, though she imagines her sandals vacationing at the beach and sending her fond postcards. Spring brings two more footwear-related surprises for Abby. Tsiang expresses childlike emotions and thoughts in a simple text that reads aloud well. Washed with cheerful colors, Lengs cartoon-style drawings interpret the story with originality and wit, from the scene where Abby makes snow sandals instead of snowmen to the postcard pictures, in which the two errant flip-flops cavort on a tropical beach. This is possibly the first picture book on shoe migration, an idea that imaginative children will find nearly believable and wholly satisfying.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2011
Wouldn't it be lovely if your favorite pair of shoes took off after its season was over and returned in pristine condition when it was needed again? Much to Abby's amazement and delight, that is exactly what happens to her best summer sandals and then to her much-loved winter boots. Delicate-lined illustrations capture the story's humor, despite some lapses in logic.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 15, 2010

An imaginative look at just what happens to all those outgrown and worn-out but still beloved shoes. For Abby, those adored shoes are her sandals, perfect for everything. Abby wears them all summer long, delighted by the heart-shaped tracks they make in the sand. In the fall, none of her mother's arguments persuade her to part with them. But then, while she is swinging high, they fly off her feet. Instead of falling, they fly away, joining others in a V formation and heading south. A heartbroken Abby reads the postcards they send from a sunny beach and reluctantly wears the boots her mother buys. It's February before they are her new favorite shoes. But in the spring, they join a long line of other boots on a northbound train. Forlorn, Abby sits barefoot, until she hears flapping.... Tsiang's flight of fancy is delightfully captured in Leng's illustrations. While small, they are rich in detail and movement. Abby's personality truly shines in her body language. This whimsical tale is sure to beguile anyone who has ever outgrown a much-loved pair of shoes. (Picture book. 4-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)