Indian Shoes [Hardcover]

Cynthia Leitich Smith (Author), Jim Madsen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: April 2, 2002 | Age Range: 6 - 10 years | Lexile Measure: 820L (What's this?)

What do Indian shoes look like, anyway? Like beautiful beaded moccasins...or hightops with bright orange shoelaces?

Ray Halfmoon prefers hightops, but he gladly trades them for a nice pair of moccasins for his Grampa. After all, it's Grampa Halfmoon who's always there to help Ray get in and out of scrapes -- like the time they are forced to get creative after a homemade haircut makes Ray's head look like a lawn-mowing accident.

This collection of interrelated stories is heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny. Cynthia Leitich Smith writes with wit and candor about what it's like to grow up as a Seminole-Cherokee boy who is just as happy pounding the pavement in windy Chicago as rowing on a take in rural Oklahoma.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ray Halfmoon, a Seminole-Cherokee boy living with his grandfather in Chicago, is at the center of Smith's (Rain Is Not My Indian Name) slim collection of six tales. In the title story, Ray tries to take the edge off Grampa's homesickness for his native Oklahoma by buying him a pair of Seminole moccasins, which the two spy in an antique shop. But when he arrives at the store, a librarian offers the shopkeeper more money for the shoes than Ray has to spend. The boy then trades the woman his own hightops for the moccasins (which, says a grateful Grampa, "put me in the mind of bein' back home") and the woman displays the sneakers in her library, labeling them "Cherokee-Seminole Hightops." In other selections, the duo cares for neighbors' pets on Christmas Day, Grampa finds a solution to the dreadful haircut he gives Ray on the day of a big baseball game and the two share a special moment while fishing at night. Though the author affectingly portrays the strong bond between grandson and grandfather, the narrative bogs down with flowery or overwritten passages (e.g., "Ray's and Grampa's breath puffed cloudy as they trudged next door to the Wang home. In the driveway, Mrs. Wang's VW Bug waited to be freed from the snow like a triceratops skeleton embedded in rock"). Kids may have trouble sticking with this collection. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-Smith adds her voice to the precious few authors portraying realistic contemporary life for Indian children. Although she tells little of his background, the author uses six vignette chapters to introduce Ray, an affable mixed-blood Cherokee-Seminole boy living in Chicago with his Grampa Halfmoon. With humor, compassion, and ingenuity, Ray trades his own high-tops for some old-time Seminole moccasins for his grandfather, overcomes wardrobe trouble to serve as ring bearer in a family friend's wedding, and harbors a houseful of neighbors' pets during a winter power outage. He wins third place in a local art contest, inspires team spirit for his baseball team with a unique and colorful haircut, and enjoys the quiet splendor of a predawn fishing trip with his grandfather during a visit with relatives in Oklahoma. There are no mystical nature spirits or cathartic history lessons, only the everyday challenges common to any contemporary kid, as experienced by an Indian boy who is firmly grounded in his own family's heritage. With its unadorned portrayal of urban Indian life, Shoes is a good book for any elementary-aged reluctant reader, and a necessity for indigenous children everywhere.
Sean George, St. Charles Parish Library, Luling, LA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 10 years
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060295317
• ISBN-13: 978-0060295318
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another gem! June 7, 2002

By Debbie Reese

Format:Hardcover

My response to INDIAN SHOES is similar to my reaction to Smith's other two books, JINGLE DANCER and RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME. It is rare to find realistic fiction that captures the lives of today's Native people----stories that present us as we are, not in some mystical, romantic, exotic or savage way. (We are a Pueblo Indian family.) Smith's stories and her fine command of her craft is a treasure in our home. Her stories make us laugh, give us quiet moments for thought, uplift us. As a professor of children's literature, I highly recommend INDIAN SHOES to pre-service and practicing teachers and librarians, and parents who seek literature that provides an authentic look at Native people.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Characters You'll Remember June 29, 2002

By "alexwriter"

Format:Hardcover

My daughter (age 6) and I loved this book, which is about the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather. What was nice about it was the unexpectedness of it. It was not the usual school or historical stories written for this age group. Rather, they are just quirky unusual tales. I also think it is great that Ms. Leitich Smith presents Native Americans not only as traditional, ritualistic people who sit around telling allegorical stories, but as a living, breathing group. As such, this book is the perfect antidote to the usual "Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims" fare. My daughter lost her grandfather a few years ago, but Indian Shoes captures the essence of that relationship and is wonderful! We won't soon forget Ray and Grandpa Halfmoon.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Grandpa-Grandson Stories April 11, 2002

By Greg H. Leitich

Format:Hardcover

Ray and Grampa Halfmoon share the kind of relationship every kid should have with a grandparent, somebody who's there for you in good times and goofy ones, somebody who always tries to understand how you feel. This collection of contemporary Native American stories is funny and fun, but a underlying is a real heartfelt and wholesome love. Musical writing and gorgeous illustrations. Set in Chicago and Oklahoma, this beautifully crafted book is a great choice for third and fourth graders.