From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3—This droll fable tells how stylish ants once needed many pairs of beautiful shoes for their busy lives and favorite dance. Because the Tick-Toe-Hip-Clog-Tock-Hop requires a pair of ants to make 36 hundred steps, the cobbler ant works around the clock and becomes very rich. When he accidentally bites his foot, he decides he is working too hard and leaves town. Unable to buy new shoes or have their old ones repaired, the fashionable ants despair. One evening, Red Ant arrives at the party without shoes—or clothes—and dances gracefully. Soon all of the ants discard their shoes. Since then, all of these tiny creatures walk barefoot. Smartly dressed ants with large heads and expressive eyes are set against stark white backgrounds. Their elegant clothes are reminiscent of Russian fashion at the turn of the last century. Rich colors and interesting details are lavished on both shoes and clothes. No comment is made about the ants giving up their clothes as well as their shoes; however, smiling faces indicate they are pleased to be rid of both. Pair this book with Tony Ross's
Centipede's One Hundred Shoes (Holt, 2003) to spark a discussion about wants and needs.—
Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
MUSHARRAF ALI FAROOQI is an author and translator. He was the translator for THE ADVENTURES OF AMIR HAMZA. Born in Hyderabad, Pakistan, he now lives in Toronto, Canada.
EUGENE YELCHIN studied art and theater design at the Leningrad Institute of Theater and is the illustrator of THE HOUSE OF A MILLION PETS. He lives in California.
