Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Set in the South during the time of segregation, this lushly illustrated picture book brings the civil rights era to life for contemporary readers as two young girls find an inventive way to foil Jim Crow laws.
When her brother's hand-me-down shoes don't fit, it is time for Ella Mae to get new ones. She is ecstatic, but when she and her mother arrive at Mr. Johnson's shoe store, her happiness quickly turns to dejection. Ella Mae is unable to try on the shoes because of her skin color. Determined to fight back, Ella Mae and her friend Charlotte work tirelessly to collect and restore old shoes, wiping, washing, and polishing them to perfection. The girls then have their very own shoe sale, giving the other African American members of their community a place to buy shoes where they can be treated fairly and "try on all the shoes they want."
Synopsis
Ever since she can remember, Ella Mae has worn her cousin Charlotte's hand-me-down shoes. But today she is going to get a brand-new pair. In the shoe store, a girl with yellow pigtails is trying on a pair of pretty red Mary Janes. Because she's black, Ella Mae isn't allowed to try on shoes. Her mother traces Ella Mae's feet on a piece of paper, and the salesman looks for a pair of shoes that will fit. Ella Mae is upset. But not for long. She and Charlotte have a plan to rectify this humiliating experience Susan Lynn Meyer's charming characters and the compelling situation, along with Eric Velasquez's beautiful paintings, tell a deeply moving and thought-provoking story.