Whose Shoe?

April 1, 2015
Bunting and Ruzzier team up for another rollicking, rhyming search (Have You Seen My New Blue Socks?, 2013), this time for the owner of a lone shoe. "There's something in that tall bamboo. // Oh, my goodness! It's a shoe! / Finders keepers? That's not true. / I'll find the owner of this shoe." The shoe, a blue-and-yellow saddle shoe, dwarfs Mouse, but the rodent persists in its search, its polite manners drawing (somewhat didactic) comments from the animals it meets. It's way too small for Tiger, too big for Spider, and useless for a bird that flies. It's not one of Hippo's four pairs, and Elephant only wears heels, for their slimming effect on ankles and legs. Finally, Kangaroo admits to chucking the painful new shoe and offers it to Mouse, who is quite pleased to have it...as a bed. The text and illustrations both evoke old-fashioned early readers (the morals and manners may seem old-fashioned to some as well), though their modern-day counterparts lack the challenging vocabulary: dainty, catastrophe, pursue, inquiring, inspiring, decline, astounded, considerate. Ruzzier's pen, ink, and watercolor artwork uses spare details and white space to draw readers' eyes. It's an enjoyable read-aloud, but it feels cast a little too closely in its predecessor's mold and lacks the previous book's freshness. (Picture book. 4-8)

May 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 1-A solitary shoe and an honest mouse determined to find its owner lend an air of whimsy and humor to this investigative tale. Mouse asks everyone, from Spider, who has eight tiny shoes, to Elephant, who has impossibly high heels, but his inquiries come to naught, until he meets Kangaroo. While delighted that Mouse has been so kind to return the shoe, he admits that it hurt his foot. Mouse enjoys the reward for his earnest search, which "is now complete./The stars are shining overhead..../I'm happy in my king-size bed!" Bunting's cheerful rhymes pair perfectly with Ruzzier's pastel and jewel-toned illustrations featuring expressive animals and quirky footwear. VERDICT Ideal for preschoolers, this title will have wide appeal and could surely be used for storytimes or one-on-one sharing.-Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015
Preschool-K In the third book by the Bunting-Ruzzier team, sweet pastel pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations highlight the tale of a small mouse earnestly searching for the owner of a solitary shoe. Mouse does his best to find whoever lost the handsome, lonesome shoe and politely asks everyone he encounters, including a spider, a bird, a hippo, and an elephant, to no avail. Tiger! I have found a shoe! Who has lost it? Was it you? When he finally locates the shoe's owner, Mouse is surprised to discover why he found it hanging off a stalk of bamboo. The backgrounds on the double-page spreads alternate from empty, pure white to colorful skies filled with fluffy clouds, enhancing the appeal of the pictures' clean lines and soft colors. Rhyming couplets scan perfectly, making this an enjoyable read-aloud, either in a group setting or one-on-one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)