“UNCLE WALLY’S OLD BROWN SHOE,” by Wallace Edwards, Orca Books, Oct. 1, 2012, Hardcover, $19.95 (ages 3-5)
Uncle Wally once had an old brown shoe. There was a kitten that drove around in it and a pig in a fancy hat that would tickle the kitten. There was a frog that chased the pig, a bee that smooched the frog and a fish that startled the bee. Now that fish traveled around on the comfortable back of a duck who happened to like listening to a dog with a musical flair. There was a mouse in a plane that did looped the loop over the dog, until an ape on the puppet tree caught it. The ape was charmed by a moth that never sleeps. Now that moth was dreamed by a big cat, a big cat whose button popped off his pajamas and rolled away into a dream and became the wheel on Uncle Wally’s old brown shoe.
Inspired by the nursery rhyme “The House That Jack Built,” this tale follows the travels of a very unusual shoe. With each turn of the page, the story becomes more involved and outlandish. Children will love the cumulative story, as each element is repeated with the turn of a page. But what they will most enjoy is the imaginative illustrations that combine animals, nature and the unknown all in one big package.
