Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: FAMILY FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIESAuthor/authors: Maribeth Boelts; Illustrated by Noah Z. Jones
Year of Publication: 2007
Book Title: Those Shoes
ISBN #: 0763624993
Age Level: Upper Elementary
# of pages: 32
Quality of illustrations: Colorful and appealing illustrations in watercolor
Brief Summary: Jeremy is a young boy whose one wish is to get a pair of “those shoes” the shoes that everyone at school has. “Those shoes” are black high-tops with two white stripes signifying the rite of passage of a young boy wishing to be inducted into the “cool” group. Jeremy asks his grandma if he can have them but she says “there’s no room for ‘want’ around here—just ‘need,’” and what he needs are boots for the winter time. Jeremy manages to find a pair at a thrift store that are too small for his feet but he squeezes into them anyway and limps around. Pretty soon it becomes obvious that he cannot wear these anymore and he decides to give them to a less fortunate kid in his class. Great story, with a great moral.
Post reading activity: Have the children share a time when they wanted something they could not have and have them write a “journal entry” of how they felt about that. Have some share their stories if they wish and attempt to spark a conversation about the things that “really matter” in life like what Jeremy did for his friend.
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