TWO SHOES, BLUE SHOES, NEW SHOES!
by Sally Fitz-gibbon & illustrated by Farida Zaman
A little girl’s walk to school takes a whimsical turn in this energetic tale from Fitz-Gibbon (The Patchwork House, not reviewed). With her exuberant tootsies shod in brand-new shoes, the young girl cavorts across town. Jaunty rhymes set in a rhythmic cadence propel the verses along as the child’s glee transforms a mundane walk into an exotic adventure. “Mustn’t stop to talk, shoes, / Got too far to walk, shoes!” Fitz-Gibbon’s playful blend of realism and ingenious flights of fancy are infectious. A stroll through the park soon takes on the appearance of a daring safari; readers will be swept along by the child’s enthusiasm as she envisions doing some fancy footwork with a blue baboon on the moon, munching cheese with dangling chimpanzees, and so forth. Zaman’s striking illustrations, depicting the bustling beehive of activity that is a city landscape, effortlessly segues from the actual to the fantastical. Her unique perspectives remain grounded in realism; populated crowd scenes are drawn from the view of the child, with only the other children fully visible amid the mass of torsos and legs of the taller adults. Jolly good fun, Fitz-Gibbon’s tale illuminates for the novitiate what bliss can be brought forth by the acquisition of some new footgear and a sprinkling of imagination. (Picture book. 3-6)