If the Shoe Fits [Hardcover]

Alison Jackson (Author), Karla Firehammer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2001 | Age Level: 2 and up

An original take on some favorite nursery rhymes - this is one search for a new house that's bound to be more pleasure than trouble.

There was an old woman
who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children,
she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth
without any bread,
Then took them to live
in a new home instead.

Too messy, too woolly, too noisy, too small. Whether it's Humpty Dumpty's wall or Mother Hubbard's cupboard, the old woman (who once lived in a shoe) and her children (who once lived there, too) just can't seem to find a new home big enough for their growing needs. So where will they turn for a cozy night's rest? The perfect place is only a step away -- no moving van required!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young ones who have mastered their nursery rhymes will get a hoot out of Jackson's (I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Pie) gentle humor and the old woman who lives in a shoe (who delivers the punch line). When she decides to seek a new home for her brood, the old woman visits a succession of familiar places. Firehammer's (The Flea's Sneeze) pleasant illustrations portray the wee family escaping along Humpty Dumpty's wall, fleeing from 24 blackbirds, being squeezed out of the suit of the Grand Duke of York and frightening Little Miss Muffett in place of the spider (after her entourage settles into a warm woolen coat, the narrative reads, "When Little Jack Horner stopped in for some pie,/ She decided to give a new haven a try"). The soft-edged acrylic paintings feature a pastel palette, a cast of multicultural, doll-like children with their family dog and cat and plenty of action. Youngsters will likely embrace the chance to identify these characters and their well-known rhymes. The old woman eventually settles her huge family back into their original shoe house, and says, "If the shoe fits, then wear it," thus providing a fitting conclusion. Ages 2-7.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

reS-Gr 2-In their search for new housing, the old woman who lived in a shoe and her multicultural cast of children visit many recognizable nursery rhymes. Audiences will enjoy identifying the many rhyming Mother Goose references, including a visit with Little Jack Horner, a stop on a hickory-dickory clock, and a spin in Miss Muffet's teacup. Finally, after many silly mishaps and adventures, the children land in the boot of the Grand Duke of York, and find it lacking. At this point the old woman, who "had grown much more patient and wise," declares, "`If the shoe fits, then wear it'-.And she led them right back where this story began." Although some segments are less satisfying than others as they stretch to fit the theme, Jackson's deft touch for humor carries the audience's interest through the story. Firehammer's pastel-colored, acrylic-on-illustration-board pictures are lively and funny, just the right touch for this brief jaunt through children's literature.

Piper L. Nyman, Fairfield/Suisun Community Library, Fairfield, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (September 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805064664
• ISBN-13: 978-0805064667
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Home Sweet Home....., September 3, 2002

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: If the Shoe Fits (Hardcover)

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe./She had so many children, she didn't know what to do./She gave them some broth without any bread,/Then took them to live in a new home instead..." So begins Alison Jackson's creative and humorous twist on the old classic Women in the Shoe nursery rhyme. The poor woman and her enormous brood try out a myriad of places, including the cat and the fiddle's hat, Humpty Dumpty's wall, Little Miss Muffet's teacup, Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard, and Hickory Dickory Dock's clock, but no place feels right. And so in the end "...If the shoe fits, then wear it," she said to her clan./And she led them right back where this story began..." Ms Jackson's energetic, rhyming, chain of events story is filled with familiar nursery rhyme characters, and little ones will revel in all the fun of identifying old friends and remembering their verses. Karla Firehammer's engaging illustrations, in soft pastel tones, are rich in entertaining details and marvelous facial expressions. Perfect for preschoolers, If The Shoe Fits is a wonderful, fun-filled romp kids will want to read again and again, and is sure to become an instant favorite at your house.