Shoe Baby

"Joyce Dunbar (Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep) teams up with her daughter Polly Dunbar (Dog Blue) for a nursery rhyme — style romp. A cute and nearly baldheaded baby commandeers a fanciful red shoe and embarks on amazing adventures; to each group of exotic-looking creatures the infant encounters, he offers up a cheery salutation. 'This very same baby/ Flew in that shoe!/ To the birds in the air he said,/ 'How do you do?' ' The accompanying illustrations shows the tyke gleefully soaring in the shoe — which has conveniently spouted wings and a propeller — and mingling with a deliciously silly flock (the work of Ronald Searle comes to mind), created from cutout paper and paints. Eventually, the shoe's real owner reclaims his property — and this figure, who first appears to be an angry 'giant,' turns out to be a very stylish Daddy, with an equally soign Mommy close behind: ' 'My shoe,' said Papa./ 'My runaway shoe!/ I could find only one,/ But now I have two!' ' Youngsters will be captivated by the light-as-air pictures and the irresistible repetition of the 'Oooo' sound. Ages 2-5. (Aug.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

An acclaimed author teams up with her illustrator-daughter for this singsong tale of a baby who takes to the sea, the air, and the shops--in a shoe. Full color.

Joyce Dunbar is the author of more than seventy books for children, including the bestselling TELL ME SOMETHING HAPPY BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP. She says, "I wanted to write a book for my daughter to illustrate. I tried to think of all the things she loves to draw shoes, animals, birds, giants, babies and to write a text that had the nonsensical exuberance of a nursery rhyme. But this cannot be forced. For six years I was stuck halfway through. Then one gray day in November, the rest of it just plopped onto the page. It had been there all the time!" Joyce Dunbar lives in Norwich, England.

Polly Dunbar is the author-illustrator of DOG BLUE and FLYAWAY KATIE, which KIRKUS REVIEWS called "a joyous cure for a case of the doldrums. . . exuberant, to say the least." Polly Dunbar says, "SHOE BABY is the first book I have illustrated for my mum. It was great fun to do, as it is such a fantastical story and has so many exciting things to draw. Also I love shoes!" Polly Dunbar lives and works in London.