Sadie and the Silver Shoes by Jane Godwin

  Sadie and the Silver Shoes by Jane Godwin. Illustrated by Anna Walker. Candlewick Press, 2019, first U.S. edition. Published in 2018 in Australia. Picture book.

A little girl flew by me in the American Girl store this morning. She had on a pair of glittery silver Mary Jane shoes. "Hey, wait, " I called. She stopped and stared at me. "I just read a book about a little girl with silver shoes," I told her. "I have silver shoes, " she told me. The perfect beginning to talk about this great picture book, right?

Sadie has three brothers. She wears their handed down clothes, but gets her own underwear and shoes. When shoes are one of the few things that you control in life, it's important to pick the right pair. Sadie chooses silver shoes, but loses one on a family outing. She loves the left over shoe so much that she pairs it with one shoe from other pairs. When she meets a new friend, Ellie, she learns that Ellie has a silver shoe, too...one that she found at the beach! Of course, Ellie tells Sadie that she can have the shoe back, but thoughtful Sadie decides that friends do share and that they will share the shoes. The last page shows and tells about their glee at having a friend and having a silver shoe.

The illustrations are done with water colors and collage. They are mostly soft colors with many small illustrations on some pages. The family is delightful. One big center spread shows the underwater rocks and fishes where the shoe has fallen. The words are childlike, but clear. This is one of my very favorite new picture books. Obviously, I cannot resist sharing it!