Shoe Baby

Shoe Baby
written by Joyce Dunbar
illustrated by Polly Dunbar

Suggested age: 2-5 years

A baby heads out on a magical journey in a gorgeous red shoe. He is always courteous and says, "How do you do". He even invites the Queen to tea who brings the King too. And this gracious baby says to them with a bow, "How do you do". Until at last he meets a giant with only one shoe, and a giantess crying boo-hoo-hoo, when the baby pops right out of his shoe and says, "Peekaboo! Hi papa, Hi mama, how do you do?"

This charming book is written by Joyce Dunbar and illustrated by her talented daughter, Polly. Fly Away Katie was such a hit with Ana that I decided to get another book by Polly Dunbar. I love her illustrations just as much as Ana seems to.

The brilliant and vibrant colors on the cover - a gorgeous red shoe set against a glowing deep blue - along with the suggestion of motion just jumped out at me and I had to give it a try.

The rhymes are easy and flow very smoothly throughout the book.

At long last this baby slept in that shoe
So dozy, so cozy, so tickety-boo.

Ana is tickled pink about the "tickety-boo" that every night since I borrowed the book she has insisted this be the book I read to her last before I turn the light off and tuck her in. And, she loves it when I adapt it to say At long last little Ana curled up her toe, So dozy, so cozy, so.... and I pause so she can gleefully chirp tickety-boo.

This book is a delight to read aloud. It is cute and simple, and I have a feeling it appeals very much to toddlers' sense of adventure and imagination - in something as simple as a shoe, the baby manages to go everywhere.

While the illustrations might seem too busy at times, they match the words on the page close enough that 2+ year olds can easily follow along and discover the happenings on the page.
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