Thankfully for the protagonist of this picture book she is not
doomed to dance forever as the protagonist of Hans Christian
Andersen's fairy tale The Red Shoes was subjected to. Eleri Glass'
picture book - The Red Shoes; published by Simply Read Books,
features a little girl whose mother brings her shopping for a new
pair of shoes. While her mother picks sensible shoes for her
daughter to try on, the little girl's eyes are drawn to a pair of
ruby shoes nestled amongst the rows upon rows of sensible brown and
white lace-up shoes. After trying on a few pair that simple don't
appease her tired and achy feet, the little girl convinces her
mother to let her try on the ruby pair of shoes. The minute the
little girl's feet slide into the red Mary Jane style shoes she
feels euphoric. Much to her delight she becomes the proud owner of
these shoes and unknown to her mother she also wears them to bed
that night.
This book about the joy of finding that gem hidden amongst the
ordinary is not just for children - women of all ages can
appreciate and relate to this story. Eleri taps into the magical
power that shoes can have over a person; especially a pretty red
pair. And what really makes this story relatable and a joy to read
is the illustrations by Ashley Spires (illustrator and author of
Penguin and the Cupcake and Small Saul). The illustrations are
spot-on and vividly bring to life the little girl's emotions over
the course of the shopping trip. I highly recommend this charming
picture book.