New Shoes

Starred review from December 8, 2014
After Ella Mae discovers that even buying shoes is a humiliating experience for people of color in 1950s Jim Crow America (she isn’t allowed to try the shoes on), she and her cousin Charlotte unleash their entrepreneurial talents, opening a backyard store of clean, used shoes. Now, Ella Mae explains, “anyone who walks in the door can try on all the shoes they want.” It isn’t easy to make a story seem as if it’s telling itself, but this gripping piece of historical fiction does just that. Meyer’s (Black Radishes) prose is vividly precise in its detail; the girls’ optimism and determination is almost palpable, and when Ella Mae and Charlotte prepare their inventory for sale, the smell of soap, polish, and leather seems to fill the air. Velasquez (A Thirst for Home), working in oils, takes an unobtrusive, documentary-style approach, but he also cleverly combines warm, earth-toned settings with the bright pastel dresses worn by Ella Mae and Charlotte, so that his heroines literally and unequivocally shine through. Ages 6–9. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

February 1, 2015

Gr 1-3-Ella Mae usually gets her new school shoes as hand-me-downs from her older cousin, Charlotte. One day, Charlotte's old shoes are too tight for Ella Mae and so the girl gets to buy a brand new pair of shoes. At Johnson's General Store, however, Ella Mae is treated differently from another customer with "yellow pigtails." The treatment is because of the color of her skin: she is served second even though she arrived first, and she is not allowed to try on any of the beautiful new shoes. With a little brainstorming and some hard work, Ella Mae and Charlotte come up with a plan to allow everyone to try on shoes before they buy them. The illustrations paint an accurate historical picture of the 1950s and do well enough to bring out the characters' emotions, which may not otherwise be noticed in the text. An author's note at the end explains Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, and the evolution of language used to describe African Americans. The use of a lesser-known Jim Crow situation makes it stand out from other titles dedicated to this topic, but the message is very similar. VERDICT A decent introduction to the history of segregation in the U.S.-Brittany Staszak, St. Charles Public Library, IL

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2014
Meyer and Velasquez offer a tale that sets two young victims of discrimination on a path of resistance through entrepreneurship.Set in 1950s Anytown, U.S.A., the journey begins when Ella Mae's mother takes her to Johnson's Shoes to buy a new pair. They watch a white girl try on pair after pair, but the sales clerk will not permit Ella Mae to put her feet in any of them. The girl shares her disappointment with her cousin Charlotte, and the two concoct a plan to reclaim their dignity. They set to work, doing chores for the odd nickel and "a pair of outgrown shoes," ultimately setting up a community used-shoe shop in Ella Mae's backyard. Masterful oil-based artwork evokes the perseverance and poise of two young black girls who stand up against Jim Crow discrimination. Meyer delivers her message with understatement, the "gal" the clerk calls Ella Mae's mother slapping both her and readers in the face. The tale stands out from other stories of children overcoming obstacles, emphasizing how resistance and transformation can be found in the smallest of actions. An author's note gives readers background on Jim Crow and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts. Highly recommended; both a revealing glimpse into one aspect of America's institutionalized racism and inspiration for kids to create their own change. (Picture book. 5-8)

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February 1, 2015
Grades K-2 African Americans Ella Mae and her cousin Charlotte need back-to-school shoes. At the shoe store, the whites are served first, even though Ella Mae and her mama are already there. Now Mama must make a paper tracing of her daughter's feet and buy the shoes without trying them on first to see if they fit. The girls understand that this is unfair, and they find a way to fight back. They scrub floors, pick beans, and mind babies, asking for payment in outgrown shoes. After polishing up the used footwear, they open for business in the barn. Naturally, at their store, patrons are allowed to try on the shoes first! In a happy conclusion to an unfair situation, the girls triumph by fighting back against injustice. An author's note at the end explains the unjust Jim Crow laws supporting segregation that permeated America until the mid-1960s. The use of angled light and rich colors highlight each detailed page; pastel dresses shine, red Mary Janes gleam, and the individual faces glow in pictures done in oils on watercolor paper.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)