Customer Reviews

A Pair of Red Clogs

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My mother recently mailed to me a 40 year-old copy of "A Pair of Red Clogs" that I had when I was small. I wept in recognition of the poignant, exquisite illustrations of this young girl's life in Japan which so delighted me as a very young child. I read it now to my two year-old son, who asks questions about "the weather-telling game" that cracked Mako's clogs. The story is character forming, but it's the illustrations that last a lifetime in memory.

It's lovely to see this book is back in print. I received a copy as a birthday gift when I was 5 years old (it was a new publication then!) and continue to treasure that same volume today. I also received a real pair of clogs from Japan about the same time, so the story took on even more meaning for me. I have an opportunity to teach a workshop in Japan in May about how our experiences are reflected in our artworks -- and this beautifully illustrated story which taught me so much about integrity, as well as Japanese culture, will be an important reference in my presentation. Simple lessons, so important to a child's character,kindly taught, DO last a lifetime! This is an important book for your child's library.

Purple House Press is reissuing A Pair of Red Clogs in the late fall of 2002! Same great story and pictures in a hardcover edition.

My two boys, ages 2 and 5 love this book. Universal themes paired with beautiful Japanese art and poetry make it a winner.

We used this book in our homeschool curriculum (FIAR). It includes traditional Japanese culture and a moral lesson(honesty) without being too "preach-y" about it. It gave us a lot to talk about. It is well written and illustrated. My 4yr old really enjoyed it-- I think older children would like it too.

My daughters 6 and 2 request this book so often and still I never tire of reading it. I began the search for high quality childrens books when I could barely get through one sitting of 'Strawberry Shortcake Strikes Again!' or the equivalent. This book is a joy for reader and readee;)

The most significant aspect of this story is that it is set in Japan and the second is about the joyous memories of childhood after the fact. The title character is a young Japanese girl that receives a new pair of clog footwear. Like all children, she is proud of her new shoes and the sound they make as she walks. Unfortunately, while playing a game where you kick off your clog and watch how it lands, one of them gets cracked. The girl is very sad and gets them all muddy in the hope that her mother will buy her a new pair. This does not happen and the girl is sad. Fast forward many years in the future and the girl is now a grandmother and is buying a pair of clogs for her granddaughter. She looks in her closet and finds the old clogs and this story is her fond memories of her adventures with the new clogs.
A great deal of educational effort is now spent in schools at all levels in teaching multicultural concepts. Some of those concepts are major but most are minor ones where there is a great deal of similarity. One of the best ways to teach overall multiculturalism is in the small ways and this book is an example of how to do that. By illustrating the differences in the context of similarity, children find it easy to understand and relate to the people of other cultures.

I bought this book for my girls. We homeschool and this was a book on one of our lists to get. We LOVE IT! It is such a good story with great pictures. We refer back to if often because of the colorful pages and well written story. This was a great purchase.

Loved reading this aloud to my children. They enjoyed it as well. Great book for read aloud time!

This charming book has stood the test of time and captured the mind of my youngest students. After reading the book, one young girl played the weather telling game. Her shoe predicted snow the next day. The next day we had the first snow of the season. She was so thrilled that weather game worked!

Books like this encourage children to enjoy other cultures and as a result some parts of those cultures become incorporated into the fabric of their life experience.

I highly recommend for younger children, especially girls. But be prepared to see them playing the weather game on the playground for weeks to come.