Shoemaker and the Elves

by Ilse Plume

A poor shoemaker becomes successful with the help of four elves who finish his shoes during the night.

Genres: Christmas

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Ilse Plume is an internationally renowned children's book author and illustrator who has illustrated stories from Italy, Latvia, Russia, and Sweden. She was inspired to illustrate children's books by her daughter, and her love of tales around the world was nurtured by her grandfather.

Her books include: The Bremen Town Musicians, which received the Caldecott Honor, and, most recently, The Farmer in the Dell. She has shown her work in exhibitions at the Lincoln Public Library and the DeCordova Museum in Massachusetts, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Ilse has an M.F.A. and B.F.A. from Drake University, and studied printmaking at the Santa Reparata Studio in Florence, Italy. She is therecipient of the 1985 Ezra Jack Keats Award. She has taught at numerous institutions, including Iowa State University, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She currently teaches at the School for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and has just completed a book about St. Francis.

Reviews

[Kylie Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summarize the plot of the story.
- The plot of the story is that the Shoemaker was very poor, and his business was failing. Once he prayed for better business shoes would magically show up on his work bench and they were very nice. He decided to stay up late one night to figure out what was making the shoes.

Describe the character(s) within the story.
- The Shoemaker is old man who is just trying to make enough money to live, for him and his wife.
- The Elves are kind and magical characters. They seem to do things out of the kindness within them.

Discuss the text structure/characterization/illustrations.
- The text was short page to page with minimal details and the illustrations stuck out the most.
What do you like (dislike) about the book?

- The only part I disliked about the book was we didn't get to know the Elves, they were left as characters that had no dialog.

How could you use this book in the classroom? Provide examples.
- I could definitely use this book in the classroom. I could use it for a filler in between subjects, or when I'm trying to teach kindness. It could be a good book to show students that sometimes helping people when they need it is the best thing to do for someone.

[Rachelkline716 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early Primary, Primary (K-3)
Traditional Literature- Fairy Tale

In this story, a shoemaker and his wife are having troubles selling shoes when something magical happens overnight- the shoes are made for them out of the finest leather in the morning! Once they find out that the elves are creating these shoes, they help the elves by making them clothes to repay them. I enjoyed reading this story in one of my Guided Reading groups. The fantasy element of this text was interesting for my students to read and they got excited making predictions about how the new shoes magically came about in the morning. I think this is a great read for children right before the holiday season to encourage the magic of the holidays and show literature that connects to the winter holidays about elves, gingerbread man, Saint Nick, etc.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Italy. A shoemaker and his wife. Helpful elves. Rewards for work. What's not to like?!

Kids will enjoy the art.

This is one of my favorite fairy tales, so several versions of this story are on my shelf. Now I wonder which retelling/art I prefer.

[Penny Welter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story about a shoemaker who is very poor. He sets out leather one night and goes to bed. When he woke up the next morning, there is a perfectly made pair of shoes. A lady comes into the store and pays him double. His wife and him are so happy that they finally have money to buy more leather. They later find out that elves are helping them make shoes and repay them by making them clothes.