"and even when
you are never putting on another shoe
(even the loosest shoe
even the tightest shoe)
for the rest of your life
and you hate the shoe
you hate every shoe
and you want all the shoes
to go to the bottom of the ocean
and get eaten by a shark"
I have read this AMAZING book a number of times since it arrived, and could not bring myself to write about it until I could read it just once more. I love it so much, and it absolutely took me back many years to when my husband and I were dealing with cantankerous toddlers longing for independence and acknowledgement of their ever-changing feelings.
The adult in this ongoing conflict about a shoe puts into words exactly what is happening as the red-haired child runs, screams and continues to express all the 'even when ....' things that are making putting on that shoe an impossible task. Mom knows the child doesn't want to be reacting in such a dramatic way. She's sure all the flopping and inability to stop is not really the reaction the child wants to express. She's even willing to accept that the child will remain on the floor for all future endeavors from eating meals, attending school, working in an office, and so on ...
When Mom finally loses her own temper and shouts and threatens dire consequences if those shoes are not immediately put on, the two begin to find calm in the chaos. Mom reminds that neither one of them are the people they have become.
"you are still you
(funny sweet you)
and i am still me
(funny sweet me)
and we are not a shoe
(not the tightest shoe
or the loosest shoe)
and we are not the yelling
and the flopping
and the throwing
and we are not our
maddest faces
and our angriest eyes"
Finally, with the little one tucked in her enveloping embrace, they find time to smile and have a hug and take a clear look at those very favorite shoes that have them in such a conflict. Shoes donned, they are off on a new adventure. The final spread is the absolutely perfect denouement.
Julie Fogliano knows young children, and does an incredible job of creating this warmhearted ode to a toddler's need to feel all the feels on this day. The text moves forward in one-continuous-sentence, effective and so telling. Marla Frazee's impressive colored pencil and paint artwork turns on a dime to perfectly match the child's escalating emotions. She moves from soft warmth to the darkness of the powerful emotions they are both expressing. Once catch their collective breath and recognize the love they feel together, Ms. Frazee returns to the earlier softness. Love for each other is always there.
It happens; it's hard; many are dealing with exactly the same thing. It helps to remember that, and this wonderful book reminds us of that. It's one of my favorite books for this year.
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