From Publishers Weekly
A baby's lost shoe occasions a simple story about the cycle of life. Baby loses his red tennis shoe during a blueberry-picking expedition on Ptarmigan Mountain with his family. A search turns up nothing, and the family consigns the shoe to the wilderness. But the shoe is not really lost, at least not to the vole that makes a nest in it or a voracious foraging bear that unknowingly turns the shoe into a planter for a blueberry seed. The following summer, the family returns to the mountain, and Baby, now a toddler, discovers his sprouting shoe and proudly takes it home. "And the next year," concludes Dixon (The Sleeping Lady), in singsong prose typeset on the page like blank verse, "he was the first to pick a single ripe berry, a very sweet ripe berry, from his beautiful blueberry shoe." Zerbetz's (Lucky Hares and Itchy Bears) linocuts in soft blues and raspberry colors play off of the gentle tone of the text, which is superimposed over a patterned background of leaves and flowers. As comforting as a serving of warm blueberry cobbler. Ages 3-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-In this cumulative tale, Baby loses his shoe while his family picks berries on Ptarmigan Mountain and the adventure begins...for the shoe. The family searches for it in vain; however, a variety of animals discover the little red sneaker throughout the year and use it for a nest, a plaything, and a snack. The tale comes full cycle the next year when the family is berry picking again and finds the shoe, now home to a young blueberry plant. The exuberant linocut illustrations of the family and mountain wildlife are exceptional. Leaf impressions serve as borders around the colorful, folk-style pictures. Together, the words and art capture the joyous family outing and the excitement of each animal's discovery. This book can be used for patterning; repetition; discussion of seasons, plants, and the food chain; and, of course, Alaskan flora and fauna. This delightful, versatile picture book will warm the hearts of readers again and again.
Mollie Bynum, formerly at Chester Valley Elementary School, Anchorage, AK Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.