Review by Booklist Review
Writer/photographer Swinburne turns to a topic close to young children's hearts in this nonfiction picture book. After a few pages depicting children with and without footgear, he offers a guessing game in which a photo on the right-hand page shows a person below the knees and asks, Whose shoes? A turn of the page gives the answer and a full-length photo of a ballerina (or farmer, Army National Guard soldier, post office worker, clown . . .) on the left. The facing page repeats the question Whose Shoes? with a new photo. A few of the pictures may stump preschoolers and the chef's shoes will baffle adults as well, but often clues in the pictures will help lead kids to the answers. The clear, colorful photos provide plenty of talking points, while the short text flows in a conversational way. This attractive picture book is reminiscent of Margaret Miller's Whose Shoe? (1991), a staple of story programs for many years.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
The old adage, "take children from what they know to what they don't know," is certainly reinforced by Swinburne's concept book that, like its audience of youngsters three feet tall, keeps its eyes close to the ground: on shoes. Crisp, clear photographs show children with favorite shoes; without shoes; and with seasonal specials, such as flip-flops for summer and boots for winter. Swinburne then turns his attention to special shoes for special jobs, first presenting youngsters with a photograph of shoes (such as ballet slippers); posing the question "Whose shoes?"; and, with a page turn, providing the answer and a full image of the worker. The jobs are mixed, ranging from soldier to clown; visual context clues in the initial photograph (such as a postal worker's mailbag or a soccer player's ball) provide additional help in identifying the appropriate occupations. The book begs for interaction between reader and listener, even skipping grammatical conventions -- the answer to "Whose shoes?" is the nominal "a ballerina" rather than the possessive "a ballerina's" -- to comply with the point-and-name responses typical of this age group. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Firefighter, chef, mail carrier, ballerina, clown, farmer, soccer player, National Guard soldier and construction worker are depicted through their footwear in this photo essay that asks the title question over and over. A predictable turn-the-page format leads to a full photo of the appropriate person to answer it. There is little diversity shown in the professions, although the postal worker is a woman and the soccer player is black. Prefacing this is a spread of children shod (all wearing Crocs, which will inevitably date this book) and unshod and a series of photos of children's footwear. The last spread depicts the children in attire that predicts the jobs they may someday have with the question of which they would choose. A foreword by the author tells of the many jobs he had and the shoes he wore. The text is rhythmic and will read aloud well. This lighthearted look at occupations lacks the verve of Margaret Miller's Whose Shoe? (1991), but as that work is out of print, this will substitute nicely. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
