Baby Shoes by Dashka Slater, pictures by Hiroe Nakata.
This is a delightful picture book perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who will completely understand the book’s premise. Baby (a child who could be either a boy or a girl) has just gotten brand-new very white shoes. Then he goes off on adventures with his mom. On those adventures, his shoes slowly become more colorful and less white until they are almost a rainbow of color. Each time another color gets on his shoes, Baby says “Uh-oh!” and Mama says “Oh, no!” This pattern continues as does the chorus of “but those shoes just go, go, go.” The rhythm of the book is perfectly written and the enthusiasm by Baby is contagious. The illustrations are vivid, bright and pure fun as they show how each color gets added to the shoes. The best picture in my eyes is the second to last, where Baby is sitting on a park bench with her now exhausted mother. Baby has muddy knees, a messy face, a big smile and is proudly showing the shoes in all their glory.
Add this one to your storytimes on clothes and color. It is a lot of fun.