Blueberry Shoe

by Ann Dixon, Evon Zerbetz (Illustrator)

Ann Dixon's delightful story, illustrated with enchanting, colorful linocuts by Evon Zerbetz, presents a playful look at the secret world of woodland creatures. In tender and playful detail, Blueberry Shoe describes the sequence of creatures who sleep in, play with, and plan to eat Baby's lost shoe. First vole curls insid ethe shoe and makes a cozy nest of it. After vole slips away, a fox mother finds the shoe and tosses it, thinking it will be a fine plaything for her kits. And finally, a bear sniffs the lost shoe and expects it will yield a tasty morsel. As the shoe is lost and found several times, young readers will wonder just what will happen to Baby's shoe. But it will take the arrival of another summer and another blueberry-picking trip up Ptarmigan Mountain to reveal the answer. Through lilting words and the bright, inspired linocut illustrations, children are sure to find this a memorable, memorizable story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple pleasures (human and animal) and the cycle of nature are celebrated through this simple, episodic narrative of the adventures of a baby shoe lost on a mountain. Nature wastes nothing, not even a shoelace.

The colorful, simple illustrations were pleasant and cheerful, and I think the text has a rhythm that some children would enjoy hearing aloud. As an adult reading to myself it was a little boring, and my standard child audience at 6 and 7 found this too young for them.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

While blueberry picking on a mountain one baby looses his shoe. The family looks and looks but can't find it. Many animals move and touch the shoe and come spring when the family returns to blueberry picking the shoe is waiting with a surprise. Preschool for length

[Ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about a family that goes picking blueberries every year. All is well until one year baby loses his shoe. They look and they look, but after a long search they had to leave the shoe behind. As every animal that finds the shoe contributes to its alteration in some way the blueberry shoe is transformed into a blueberry pot, with a blueberry bush, soil and drainage holes. Eventually baby is reunited with their shoe the next summer only to find a blueberry plant ready to be taken home and planted in the garden. This book highlights how a shoe or anything really can be altered to grow a plant inside of it and would make a fun project idea for a class to bring in something old, poke holes in it, fill it with soil and plant something in it.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a charming addition to our unit on blueberries...and it paired up quite nicely with "Blueberries for Sal!" The story of a shoe lost on a blueberry-covered mountain is simple but filled with enough details to make the tale interesting to kids. Mine sure were enthralled. I liked it, yes, but they REALLY liked it. Truthfully, I didn't care much for the art style, but that's a personal preference and my kiddos seemed to like it just fine. I thought the ending was sweet and it made me very much want to go plant a blueberry plant in my old shoes!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little boy looses his shoe while out picking berries with his family. We follow the lost shoe as several animals encounter it. When next berry picking season roles around the little boy finds his shoe...and a surprise.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Alaskan family goes blueberry picking. Baby loses a shoe which the family cannot seem to find. Several animals of the forest use it over the fall and winter. When the family discovers it as they berry pick the following season, there is a surprise inside.
Delightful illustrations.

[HmongGina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Alaskan book for kids and adults to read.

[North of Normal Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by "Junior" (5 years old) for North of Normal Book Blog (http://www.northofnormalbookreviews.com)

I want a blueberry shoe!

(BLUEBERRY SHOE by Ann Dixon with vibrant illustrations by Evon Zerbetz is a children’s picture book set in Alaska. Appropriate for ages 1-9)

I found this book at the bookstore when my mom was meeting with readers. I like the colors on the cover.

A baby loses his shoe when he was picking blueberries with his momma and dadda. They leave the baby’s shoe on the mountain and go home without it! A lot of animals try to eat the shoe. It’s funny. But each animal loses the shoe. When the snow melts and momma and dadda come pick blueberries again, the baby finds his shoe, with a blueberry plant growing inside!

I didn’t understand a lot of the words, so I asked my mom to make up a different story to go with the pictures. I was really worried about the shoe and was sad the momma and dadda left it on the mountain all winter. I was happy they found it and brought it home.

My favorite part of this book is the pictures and knowing the shoe is now okay.

I love the pictures but when I had to pick a book to give to my best friend for his birthday, I chose a different book with llamas. I want to read this book again and again, but it’s not my favorite picture book. I give this book 4 stars.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby loses his shoe on an annual family hike up Mt. Ptarmigan to pick blueberries, leading to adventures with a variety of animals for the shoe before an unexpected return home. Zerbetz’s thick, dark linocut lines with bold colors contrast beautifully with the soft background of leaf impressions on each page.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story, this book would be cute for storytime.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one makes a great flannel story