Fall Reading 2016 Whose Shoes?

This board book is full of sharp, clear photographs. The text begins with the statement that "Most people wear shoes." There is a photo of an infant wearing soft baby shoes, then it talks about shoes for different kinds of weather and shoes in favorite colors. The heart of the book is filled with photos of shoes for specific occupations and the reader may guess what job is begin shown, then turn the page to see if they are correct. The photos include everything from a ballerina to an Army National Guard soldier. And the book brings the whole thing full circle by showing children dressed up as different professionals that they might someday become.

The photos are nicely done and show a mix of men and women in the various careers. I wish there had been more of an effort to show different cultural backgrounds. The only African American is shown playing soccer, which some readers might feel leads to stereotyping since the man is shown in sports and not some other occupation. The children playing dress-up are more of a mix of backgrounds, which is nice to see.

The guessing game portion of the text has the predictable question, "Whose shoes?" for every new type of footwear shown. That will make it easy for beginning readers or pre-readers to chime in at the correct time with the right words. Overall this is a fun look at something we take for granted every day.

I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.