Review by Booklist Review
Marcus' delight upon receiving a new pair of shoes is literally buoyant! He bounces around everywhere in them and even wants to wear them to bed. Marcus shares his happiness with his grandfather, who tells him a story about another boy, Ariba, who also loved his new shoes once upon a time. Distinctly modern with a hint of folklore, the story of Ariba's shoes is vaguely allegorical with a message about time and connection offering readers an opportunity to discuss Ariba and his journey. Ariba's travels cause Marcus to think about connections made and lost. He loves his time together with Grandpa, and sharing stories is part of their connection. Manapov's illustrations are striking in color, texture, and movement, not only providing a context for Marcus' and Ariba's lives but also including details such as animals in every scene that add whimsy and fun and will have readers lingering even in their eagerness to follow the plot.--Amina Chaudhri Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Marcus is enormously pleased with his new shoes, which "lit up and flashed in two colors." Bold colors and crisply edged graphic shapes show Marcus in his room, his shoes glowing through the fabric of his play tent. Marcus's grandfather duly admires them, then offers to share a story of his own about shoes. Ariba, a child of color like Marcus, also has treasured footwear: green tie-up shoes his parents bought too big so that Ariba would be able to wear them for a long time. His shoes lead him on adventures throughout his village: "I've heard they even led him to track down the village robber," the storyteller says, as a red fox stealing a hen is seen with Ariba's green-shod feet in pursuit. When Ariba grows older and moves from his village to a city, his tastes change, and he resolves to get rid of his shoes. Instead, a series of sweetly comic encounters show his neighbors inadvertently thwarting his plan--and continually reconnecting him with his old shoes and his past. Debut creator Manapov's story within a story spotlights the warmth of close-knit communities, and her artwork bursts with motion and color. Ages 6--10. (Nov.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Dark-skinned, curly-haired Marcus is thrilled with his new red shoes and shows them off to everyone he meets. While talking with him on the phone, his grandfather tells Marcus a story about a child named Ariba, who received a brand-new pair of green-and-yellow sneakers for his 12th birthday that turned out to be almost "magical." Ariba found that he could do amazing things in his shoes and decided to make them last by only wearing them on Sundays. After many years, the grown-up Ariba moved to the city and decided that it was time to buy a new pair of shoes and give up the old ones. He attempted several times to leave his sneakers where someone else would find and use them but the shoes always returned to him. Mixed-media illustrations in bright red, blue, green, pink, and black fill the pages with collage-style images. VERDICT How the shoes came back into his possession and who Ariba is are answered in this quirky retelling of an African folktale.--Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Marcus hears a funny tale about a pair of new shoes from his grandfather.Marcus is thrilled about his new shoes. He can't stop moving. He shows them off to everyone. When he tells his grandfather about them, Grandpa has a story to share. A boy named Ariba who lives in a small mountain village gets a pair of brand new shoes, sturdy and big, with room for his feet to grow. Those wonderful shoes take Ariba on special adventures. But when Ariba's friends start moving to the city, Ariba wonders "what the sky was like over there, beyond the high mountains." His shoes get him to the city, where "the sky had become very small," and soon "he forgot to ever look up." When he buys a new pair of shoes that "fit his new life," he tries repeatedly to discard the now-used shoes, but each time, someone recognizes them as his and returns them to him. He gives up trying to rid himself of them and lets them carry him back to see the sky again. This story is great fun to share with young listeners, who will giggle each time the shoes make their way back to Ariba and will be delighted to recognize Ariba's shoes at the end. Older readers will appreciate the gentle thread about staying connected to one's roots. The vibrant, printlike illustrationsin bold colors, emphasizing red, yellow, and green, on thick, soft paperperfect the silly yet meaningful story. Marcus and Ariba have brown skin; other characters are fantastical shades of mustard yellow, paper white, rusty red, and charcoal black.Read it, share it, laugh out loud. (Picture book. 3-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
