Boot & Shoe

Boot & Shoe

Written and illustrated by Marla Frazee

Beach Lane Books, 2012

40 pages

Picture Book-Fiction

                I chose this book because I really like this story and the artwork. This is a sweet story about two dogs and their close friendship. Boot and Shoe were siblings that did everything together. They had daily routines and each had their own designated areas around the house. One dog slept on the front porch, and the other dog slept on the back porch. One day, a squirrel stirred up some trouble, and the dogs chased it until the squirrel got bored and left. Each dog ended up on the opposite porch that it started from. Each dog thought the other was lost, and they refused to do anything without the other. Eventually the dogs find each other and were overjoyed to find one another.

                I loved the illustrations for this book! The text was hand-lettered by the author. This adds such a personal touch and makes this book unique. The pictures were drawn using black Prismacolor pencil and gouache on speckled paper. The drawings are very neat and orderly, corresponding with the neat text. I really enjoyed looking at the contrast of the charcoal color against the brighter colors. I think that the speckled paper brings these things out as well.

                This book is appropriate for students ranging from kindergarten to third grade. Boot & Shoe could be used in a reading lesson because several phrases repeat. This would be a good read aloud book because students can repeat the phrases and stay engaged with the story. This book also paints a lovely picture of friendship that any student could gain value from.  Boot & Shoe  has won several small awards such as 2012 ABC Best Books for Children Title, 2012 Kirkus Best Children’s Book, New York Public Library Top 100 Children’s Books of 2012, 2012 Booklist Editor’s Choice, Little Bird Best Book of 2012 Award, and 2012 Junior Library Guild Selection.