New Shoes

New Shoes

by Susan Lynn Meyer

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.”


Ages: 6-9
Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
ISBN: 9780823425280
Price: $16.95
Published by: Holiday House, Inc.

More

  • The Good for Nothing Puddle
  • Mostly What God Does is Love You
  • Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day
  • Game Changers—Stories of Hijabi Athletes from around the World
  • Jella Lepman and Her Library of Dreams
  • Orisha, Volume 1
  • Sonoran Cuties!
  • The Woofmore on Thin Ice (The Woofmore #3)
  • Bruce Saves the Planet—A Disney Planet Possible Book
  • The Girl Who Couldn’t Lie
  • Jeremy the English Garden Snail—Heredity, Citizen Science, and #snaillove
  • Out of the Valley of Horses
  • Start Small, Think Big—Fluffy Flying Seed
  • Wrong Time Rooster
  • Bunny Made Tea
  • Good Hunting for Kids—Growing Up to Be the Best Hunter You Can Be
  • Kahoʻolawe
  • Racing the Clouds
  • The Super Sports Society Vol. 2—Winning is All We Do
  • Yayoi Kusama
Back to Top