It’s all about the shoes …

Today is Annalise’s 4th birthday. But the book I want to share with you today is mine! When I bought this one, I couldn’t even pretend it was for one of the kids. Sometimes I do that, you know, buy a book that I just love and tell myself that really, it is just right for this particular child of mine because of this developmental reason or because the theme is so perfect for them.

This book, “The Red Shoes” I bought for me. Well, the girl in the story is called Karen. And I do own a beautiful pair of red peep-toes with heels so high that I can only wear them in a restaurant when I sit down for most of the evening!

Back to the book. This is a new version of the Hans Christian Anderson story, written in 1845. The original is a little dark, but this one written by Gloria Fowler is more positive. After the death of her mother, Karen wears the red handmade shoes her mother lovingly sewed for her. A spoilt princess demands Karen’s shoes but Karen is unable to take them off, and her feet will be cut off by an executioner unless she hands them over in three days. Karen must use her “own imagination, creativity, and hard work” to overcome this obstacle.

Well, that was the line for me. I repeat it to myself often these days, as I balance baking a ballerina birthday cake with editing projects, sewing a small pair of ballet shoes with getting up 85 times in the middle of the night to a sick child, playing grade one maths games while making dentist appointments.

The beautiful pen and ink illustrations are by Sun Young Yoo. It’s really refreshing to look at a book that uses only black and white. The style is so distinctive, and the pictures remain in my mind, long after the book is closed. The shoe pictures are so detailed - such a different way of depicting shoes to Sujean Rim but equally gorgeous.

I sewed a pair of “ballet shoes” for Annalise’s birthday, using the pattern for Mary Jane slippers in Sandi Henderson’s book, “Sewing Bits and Pieces.” The pattern was really easy to follow, and there are lots of other great ideas, which I’m sure I’ll eventually make. The Fabric-Covered Journal looked lovely, as does the Growing Tree Wall Hanging, and there’s also a fabulous patchwork skirt I’d love to make for Annalise.

My red shoes might be too uncomfortable to wear for more than a couple of hours but Annalise wore her ballet shoes with a big smile all day.

Turning nothing into something

Grandma bought this book, “Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat” for Tom, but really, I know she bought it for me too! You might think me unsophisticated when I confess this, but I can really identify with Milli. Now what does that say about me, that I feel a strong affinity with a character in a children’s picture book? Hmm ….

Stephen Michael King uses glorious watercolours to paint the story of Milli, a shoemaker, who spends her days making boring brown and black shoes for the people in her town. What she really wants to do is to make different things, for

Milli could take a thing that was a nothing… and make it … a something!

It is only when Jack and his dancing cat come into town and offer to teach Milli how to dance in exchange for new shoes, that something changes for Milli. A beautiful friendship begins, for the

dancing made Milli feel brave and free.

In return, she made her new friends wonderful things, made out of objects, old and forgotten. And she made things for herself, so

her shop was so spectacular that people came from far and wide to see it.

And nothing, after that, was ever the same as before.

In the beginning of the story, the colours are predominantly subdued browns, oranges, greys and greens, with splashes of colour around Milli. By the end of the story, there are brilliant yellows, blues, reds, greens and purples. I love how the illustrations create a sense of movement around Milli and Jack, of things happening. And I love how the text creates a sense of possibility, of imagining a different reality.

Tom made a fantastic ‘junk sculpture’ in his art class at a local centre. Because there is no glue or tape, he can take it apart and put it back together in new ways as often as he likes, adding bits and pieces as he finds them. Hmm, perhaps Grandma knew that Milli’s character might be reflected in both mother and son …

Necessary and fashionable

I’m talking about shoes, of course.

One of Annalise’s all-time favourite books is "Birdie’s Big-Girl Shoes" by Sujean Rims. Birdie -

… longed to wear her mother’s shoes. She loved her crocodile pumps and her summer peep-toes and all her strappy sandals …

When her mother allows Birdie to wear her shoes, Birdie

felt beautiful. She felt glamorous.
… She felt like a movie star.

However, it doesn’t take long before she realises she can’t do all her usual activities in heels. The moral of the story is clear and Birdie comes to love her

beautiful barefoot shoes most of all.

The illustrations are gorgeous. They are a combination of exquisite watercolours and brightly coloured collage and the result is stunning.

Annalise (and I!) are mesmerised by the double page spread of Birdie’s mother’s shoe closet. I’m sure there are Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blaniks there! Every time we read it, we spend a long time looking at that page and decide which pair of shoes we would like to wear that day. I always try to match whatever I’m wearing to a pair. A bit cooler – perhaps a pair of boots? If I’m wearing a skirt, maybe a pair of peep-toes or sling-backs? Maybe an elegant black or maybe a burst of contrasting colour? So much fun, this window shopping in books! Annalise, however, never deviates. No matter what the day, weather, outfit or occasion, Annalise chooses the pink mules with the floral lining. I tell you, the girl has taste.