WHOSE SHOES?

Firefighter, chef, mail carrier, ballerina, clown, farmer, soccer player, National Guard soldier and construction worker are depicted through their footwear in this photo essay that asks the title question over and over. A predictable turn-the-page format leads to a full photo of the appropriate person to answer it. There is little diversity shown in the professions, although the postal worker is a woman and the soccer player is black. Prefacing this is a spread of children shod (all wearing Crocs, which will inevitably date this book) and unshod and a series of photos of children’s footwear. The last spread depicts the children in attire that predicts the jobs they may someday have with the question of which they would choose. A foreword by the author tells of the many jobs he had and the shoes he wore. The text is rhythmic and will read aloud well. This lighthearted look at occupations lacks the verve of Margaret Miller’s Whose Shoe? (1991), but as that work is out of print, this will substitute nicely. (Picture book. 3-6)