Those Shoes

 

Book: These Shoes 

Author: Maribeth Boelts 

Illustrator: Noah Z. Jones 

Genre: Realistic Fiction 

Awards: Young Hoosier Award 

Age Group: K-3

Summary:  

Jeremy dreams about having black high-top shoes with two white stripes. However, his grandma can't afford them and would rather want him to have snow boots, something he needs unlike the shoes he wants. At school, Jeremy see's that all his classmates have the shoes and he feels rather left out. One day, as he is in the middle of playing kickball, one of his shoes falls apart and he has to get another pair, a velcro shoe with an animal on the side that he is embarrassed about. On Saturday, Jeremy and his grandma go to the store to see if they can afford the shoes only to see that it is too expensive. They then go to a thrift store to see if they can find a pair only to actually find one! However, despite it being too small, Jeremy gets it anyway in hopes that it will stretch. Meanwhile, his grandma buys him a pair of snow boots. At school, he see's that one of his classmates, Antonio, has taped up shoes that are falling apart and that he has smaller feet then him. After much debate, Jeremy decides to give his pair to Antonio and sees how happy he is in class the next day. Later on as they go to recess, they have to change their shoes into their snow boots and Jeremy is happy that he has his new boots, new boots that no kid has ever worn before. 

Evaluation and Comments: 

Those Shoes is a moving story about a boy who just wanted to fit in and get the newest, cool shoe that everyone was getting. However, he is just unable to and his grandma tells him to focus on what he needs instead of what he wants. 

This is a great book for younger students to teach them about the importance of not having the current fads embarrass you and make you feel left out; That there are many people in the world who also can't afford the newest, coolest thing and that's okay. As long as you have the things you need, you'll be fine. The book also allows you to talk about empathy; it's meaning, the importance, and why we show it to others.

With that, you can connect this book to social studies and teach students about wants and needs.  Once students have a basic grasp of this, you can then make a t-chart and have students determine whether certain objects are a want or a need. We can also take a deeper look into the character of Jeremy and have students discuss the types of feelings he experiences throughout the book and how he demonstrates empathy towards Antonio. 

In conclusion, Those Shoes have my seal of approval! 🥇😄