By Stephen R. Swinburne Whose Shoes?: A Shoe for Every Job (Hardcover) February 1, 2010

by Stephen R. Swinburne

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. Preschool-Grade 2. --Carolyn Phelan

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Nonfiction, Childrens

Hardcover

First published February 1, 2010

About the author

Steve was born in London, England. He holds a BA degree in Biology and English from Castleton State College in Vermont. He has worked as a ranger in a number of national parks and is the author of over 30 children's books. His extensive travels to faraway lands such as Africa and treks through Yellowstone have all influenced his book projects. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published Steve’s book Sea Turtle Scientist in 2014. His most recent title is from Scholastic and entitled Safe in a Storm, a comforting read-aloud story, where all the animals find cozy places to keep them safe and warm. Steve visits nearly a hundred schools a year across the United States as well as many international schools. He lives in Vermont with his wife Heather, two dogs named Scout and Jem, and a cat named Skittles.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Swinburne's full-color photographs that were used as illustrations - they were clear, mostly well-composed and had child-appeal. The book opens with a few brief statements about shoes and then moves into a guessing game for the second half of the book. With one exception, the guessing game was well constructed with context clues beyond the type of shoe apparent in the photos. The chef's shoes are a bit mystifying though and I just breezed right through that page, basically telling the kids (and parents) the answer without having them guess because there's just not enough there to figure it out. This worked fine for storytime, but not great; in the end I think it was a little boring and I probably won't use it again. It might also work as an easy reader for beginning readers since there's few words and a lot of repetition, but I'm not convinced this would be a high interest title for those kids even with the photographs.

Used for Shine Those Shoes Storytime - Terrific Ts and Preschool on 5/4/10 and Family on 5/6/10.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn't like shoes? Shoes can tell so much about a person. Stephen Swinburne creates a photo essay for the preschool readers. There are all sorts of shoes and even a game to guess whose shoe you see. (Just turn the page.)

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

People from all walks of life share their shoes. Lap readers will enjoy guessing "whose shoes?" and discussing the types of jobs they will have some day and the shoes they will wear.

[Alison Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simply, clear photographs and short sentences make this a good book for very young kids. Especially shoe-loving ones! The career guessing game aspect (with clues hidden in each picture) make it easy for parents to interact with their kids. It is not a book that will grow with your child but is a fun library-read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very straightforward nonfiction picture book discussing what shoes are appropriate for certain jobs. Lots of colorful pictures accompany the text and lots of opportunities for kids to guess what job one would do while wearing the pictured shoes. Lots of audience participation! But, it is very simple with no real story line so you'll definitely want to pair it with more exciting stories.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A picture book that presents pictures of different feet wearing different types of shoes and asks what job those shoes might be for. The concept is good but there are far more men in the book than women. Seven men versus two women. More balance would make this better.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Many are shoes children (hopefully) will not see in their regular days like military boots.

[Kimbra Power · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book for lower grades looking at community workers.

[Danielle Zuhlke]

Opening: Earlier in the week, take a picture of all of the students' shoes in the class, print them, and write each student's name on the back. Before reading the story, say, "We are going to play a guessing game. I am going to hold up a picture of one of our friend's shoes, and we are going to guess whose shoes they are. Now, if I hold up a picture of your shoes, don't tell us. Stay quiet and try to trick your friends! Are you ready?" Discuss any questions the students may have, then begin by holding up the pictures and having the students guess. Flip the picture over to show whose shoes they are. When you are all finished, show the cover of the story and read the title. Ask the students what they see in the photograph on the cover, and what they "predict" will happen in the story (explain that "predict" means they will guess what the story will be about). Listen to the students' response and discuss. As you read the story, stop to look at the photographs and discuss the details.

Opening Moves: 1) Raise interest in the topic or theme. 2) Activate background knowledge. 3) Prompt predictions based on the title.

Rationale for Book Selection: The story shows a variety of different shoes that people wear for their jobs. For example, the book shows a farmer, firefighter, Army National Guard, construction worker, post office worker, chef, etc. In our final weekly investigation of our "Clothes" theme, we discuss "What are the special clothes that people wear for work?" "Whose Shoes?" compliments this final investigation, and is developmentally appropriate for my students. My young students will have a great time guessing the jobs for each pair of shoes in the story!

(2010, January 15). Kirkus Review. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This board book is full of sharp, clear photographs. The text begins with the statement that "Most people wear shoes." There is a photo of an infant wearing soft baby shoes, then it talks about shoes for different kinds of weather and shoes in favorite colors. The heart of the book is filled with photos of shoes for specific occupations and the reader may guess what job is begin shown, then turn the page to see if they are correct. The photos include everything from a ballerina to an Army National Guard soldier. And the book brings the whole thing full circle by showing children dressed up as different professionals that they might someday become.

The photos are nicely done and show a mix of men and women in the various careers. I wish there had been more of an effort to show different cultural backgrounds. The only African American is shown playing soccer, which some readers might feel leads to stereotyping since the man is shown in sports and not some other occupation. The children playing dress-up are more of a mix of backgrounds, which is nice to see.

The guessing game portion of the text has the predictable question, "Whose shoes?" for every new type of footwear shown. That will make it easy for beginning readers or pre-readers to chime in at the correct time with the right words. Overall this is a fun look at something we take for granted every day.

I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book about, what else?, shoes. It describes how people wear different kinds of shoes in different weather, vocations and environments and the second half of the book is a guessing game about what occupations each person has, based on their footwear. It's a fun book and our girls enjoyed reading it to me.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy early non-fiction that would work for a unit on careers. I like the photographs and the simple text, and the "guessing game" format works well for a read-aloud. Wish they'd included a more diverse cast in the photos.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Preschool Story Time on 6/27/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Preschool Story Time on 9/27/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[RC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whose Shoes?: A Shoe for Every Job is a great book for young children to explore different careers by something as simple as the shoes they wear. Readers can guess who is wearing what shoes.

This book helps prepare children for kindergarten by exploring math and science concepts.

[Beckie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every job has a certain shoe to help the person work better. My 2 year old loves shoes and loved looking at all the kinds of shoes people can wear. My 7 year old enjoyed guessing what shoe belonged to which occupation.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

i've had teachers of young students ask me to do a storytime on careers and this would fit perfectly with that.

[Sharon K. Mayhew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve has written a delightful picture book with wonderful pictures! I mean who doesn't love shoes? Steve's book explores who wears what kind of shoes for different jobs and activities...

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone where's shoes at some point. The author presents several different types of shoes with feet in them and invites readers to guess whose shoes they are.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book left me so so. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. Acute explanation of different types of shoes and then the chance to guess what shoes go with what job.

[Phyll]

good for interaction, wish there were uhhhh some different jobs/depictions of workers