Baby Shoes

by Dashka Slater, Hiroe Nakata (Illustrator)

Baby's got some brand-new shoes that just . . . go, go, GO! An active toddler loves his brand-new white shoes-and by the end of a morning walk with Mom, the once-white shoes have become a rainbow of hues. New walkers will love to take this toddler-friendly board book edition-resized for little hands-everywhere they go! DASHKA SLATER lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and son. She is also the author of the picture book Firefighters in the Dark .
www.dashkaslater.com
HIROE NAKATA has illustrated many picture books for children. Originally from Japan, she now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Poetry

24 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Dashka Slater’s novel, The Wishing Box, was named one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times, which called it “an impish novel, hopeful and full of humor.” She is the author of four acclaimed children's books: Baby Shoes; Firefighters in the Dark; The Sea Serpent and Me and Dangerously Ever After. She has two picture books forthcoming in 2017, as well as the much-anticipated Young Adult non-fiction narrative The 57 Bus.

Slater is also an award-winning journalist who has written for such publications as Newsweek, More, Salon, Mother Jones, Sierra, and The New York Times Magazine. The recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, she is currently working on new books for both children and adults. Learn more at www.dashkaslater.com.

Reviews

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby Shoes by Dashka Slater is a popular picture book in my house. Given as a gift for my now nine-year-old, it's now a great book to read to my two and five-year-olds. Baby gets new shoes, then proceeds to dirty them through innocent play. Every time baby dirties her shoes in some way, the following lines come up:

"Baby says, 'Uh-oh!' Mama says, 'Oh, no!' But those shoes just go, go, go."

When it's time for the reader to examine the shoes, this verse (or a modified version based on what baby has been doing) appears:

"Those white, high-jumping, fast-running, dizzy-spinning shoes!"

The cadence of the words is so much fun. There might be the occasional vocabulary word that is beyond my girls, but it's a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary in context.

I love this book!

[Dashka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I love it -- I wrote it! And I was delighted that it was named Best Book of the year by both Booklist and Nick Jr. and placed on the Texas 2x2 list of recommended books for age 2 to grade 2. You can read more reviews -- including the starred one from Booklist -- here

[Great Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful rendition of Baby exploring the world in Baby's Brand new shoes, shows baby's first steps through various colorful experiences. Mama is cautious about Baby's steps while Baby just continues to explore and creates an artful masterpiece on Baby's shoes. Together they have explored jumping through puddles, freshly painted yellow lines on the street, running through the grass. The canvas on the shoes is full with purple streaks, polka dots and rainbow colors. Padded board book edition published in January 2019 Reviewer 1

[Haelee Jenft · Rating 3 out of 5]

For this book, again it is for a younger group of students. It was a great book for more of the toddler stage of kids. I found this book to be very engaging and it is good at holding your attention for what is to come next. I would recommend this book for someone who is looking for an easy reader and it is a good book to read aloud. Illustrations are very good but I feel like they drawn for children.

[Jenna Schuler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a cute and enjoyable book to read, with all the colorful picture and the simple story, it made the reading relaxing. The genre of this book is Nursery rhymes, making it easy for emerging poetry reader. Students can have fun reading this book and practice the style of reading poetry. I liked the main character, a young little boy, because he was doing what he wanted and was playing around with no worries in the world.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published as a picture book. This board book has playful language and repetition that will get kids saying "oh no". Colors are introduced to young listeners too. A book that kids will likely want to hear more than once.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My almost two year old loves saying “Uh oh!”, “Oh no!”, “Go, go, go” to help mom read along with the story. It’s also perfect for practicing colors. We originally checked this book out of the library but ended up buying it.

[Zoe Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I definitely think that there are better books out there and I wouldn’t personally include this in my classroom library. I might possibly use this as a rhyming lesson for a class but that’s about it.

[Délice · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love Hiroe Nakata' s illustrations and aesthetic, I didn't love the writing style. I prefer books with a cadence and rhythm and this was awkward to read aloud. Super adorable theme though!!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely book in repeating rhyme adjusted to new experiences. Great book to read with babies and toddlers.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute story of a baby with a brand new pair of very white shoes that don't stay very white for long.

[Nikki Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby gets a new pair of white shoes which soon are super colourful. Encourages adventure and exploring and getting messy.

[Ella Bettinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book for my poetry option, because I felt like it was a good introduction into poetry. The book utilized a lot of rhyming and repetition, and I really liked the author's use of verbs. It was pretty straightforward, didn't have too much of a storyline but it had some pretty fun illustrations. I'm not sure if I'll add it to my classroom library, but overall it was a cute poetry option.
(Poetry book)

[Shel]

Slater, D. (2006). Baby Shoes. New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books.

1582346844

One lucky little baby got some new shoes. Nice clean, white ones. Those shoes don't stay clean or white for long though as the baby and his mom go about their daily activities.

The illustrations are colorful and incorporate many different line shapes and angles. A few of the illustrations incorporate some fun angles and perspectives. The child consistently looks happy

I had a similar experience when I was in elementary school. So excited for my new school shoes, I wore them the last week of camp and wandered through mud, brambles and a couple of streams. My mother was not exactly pleased and had more to say than "Oh, no!"

Activities to Do with the Book:

Since there is a lot of repetition, this book lends itself to having a toddler help a parent or teacher reading the book aloud, by supplying some of the key phrases.

Since the shoes become stained by many different substances, this is also a good book to help a child learn their colors. A teacher could point to the shoes every few pages and name all of the colors they see on them.

Throughout the illustrations, there are a lot of swirling images that a young reader could trace with their finger to help with coordination.


Favorite Quotes:

“Baby's got some brand-new shoes,
white as light, stripe of blue.
He passed over all the rest,
chose the ones he liked the best."

"Baby says, "Uh-oh!"
Mama says, "Oh, no!"
But those shoes just go, go, go.

"Baby finds a puddle deep,
takes a bouncing, hopping leap."

For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.

[Ashley Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a neat little book that could teach the lesson that even though you get something dirty, it isn't the end of the world. The baby, in the story, bought some white shoes. In my opinion, white is not a color for anybody. It is easy to stain, gets dirty easily, etc. In the end, however, the boy loved his now colorful shoes. He made a negative go to a positive. Even though many children are messy and dirty, they should get the chance to wear white for a day and see how much of a mess they make on themselves. I know I wouldn't pass the clean white test. Knowing my luck, I would have dropped a piece of my lunch or dinner on my white outfit.

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would be a story about learning to walk (which is why I picked it up for my almost-walking one-year-old), but it turns out that it's actually a color story. The baby gets new white shoes and then stains them with a bunch of different colors. The rhythm is fun and there are a bunch of different opportunities for repetition, including phrases that would be very easy for a young toddler. It's a bit long for my little guy, but he seemed to like it as a bedtime story.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the elements of a great laptime story: Baby main character, believable situation, repetition, action words. Only think that holds this back for me is the length. It's just a little too long for the audience I want to read it to (babies) and the word "baby" in the title turns off older readers. I like it, but Pete the Cat accomplishes much the same effect with fewer words.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 2 years old, E loves this book. She loves the predictable parts and gets excited to finish the thought when we say "baby says..." UH OH! "Mommy says..." OH NO! (Sounds like UH-NUH when she says it. Very cute.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. Great watercolor like illustrations. My 5 year old daughter loves it.

For teachers, the author uses hyphenated words to describe the shoes. It'd be great for students to use this to describe.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2 year old daughter chose this book when we were book shopping. She asks to read it more than any other book and loves the rhymes and to respond with what baby says, mama says, and go-go-go. She sleeps with the book some nights. We have easily read it more than 100 times.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

makes we want to run fast fast fast........

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly charming tale of a baby and his new shoes. Toddlers will love the repetetive, lyrical prose, and parents will identify with baby's Mom, and, of course, baby's unlimited energy!

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

large pictures and cute repeating text. not sure if has enough to be used for storytime.

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but not memorable. I thought T would dig it, since like many toddlers she has a shoe fetish, but she had no special interest in the book either.

[Zonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Precious Baby gets new white shoes only to add his on signature colors to make them his own. Cute for PreK storytime.

[Georgiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good because it uses colors and has a fun refrain of: baby says 'uh oh', momma says 'oh no', but those shoes just go go go.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Love Love this book. The girls will be quoting this forever.

[Jetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam has a great rhythm when he reads this book to Jacob and Jake and I both have our parts to do too. It is a family favorite.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice rhyming meters. Engaging watercolors.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good refrain, bright illustrations, but might not work with a big crowd as they are not very defined. Pretty cute overall though.