The Red Heels - Hardcover

San Souci, Robert D.

3.79

53 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803711344 ISBN 13: 9780803711341

Publisher: Dial, 1996

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In a tale inspired by colonial New England folklore, Jonathan mends a young woman's shoes with red heels, knowing that this is a sign of a witch but falling instantly in love with her, and sets out to follow her as she flies into the night sky with the newly repaired shoes once again on her feet.

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-5?This unusual picture book combines art and text to stunning effect. Jonathan Dowse, an itinerant shoemaker in colonial New England, loses his way in unfamiliar woods and arrives at a mysterious cottage. Its lone inhabitant is an equally mysterious young woman of delicate beauty who possesses all the domestic attributes of the perfect "goodwife." But Rebecca's nocturnal activities are bizarre and frightening. After summarily sending Jonathan to bed and cautioning him not to disturb her, she dons her red-heeled shoes. With the help of a magical quahog shell and a brief incantation, she disappears up the chimney and into the night. The next night, the young man finds that he can re-create the magic spell, and he flies through the night to join her in a magical moonlit dance. This mood of romance, and the theme of love conquering fear, superstition, and even the tedium of the Puritan work ethic are subtexts to the plot. Although the many levels of meaning add to the story's interest, the book demands an audience that can both understand and appreciate what is going on. San Souci uses the authentic language of the times, with many "thees" and "thous" sprinkled throughout. Kelley's magnificent pastels on paper enhance the eerie quality of the story, at the same time rendering with care the details of Colonial dress, architecture, food, tools, and crafts, and other elements of daily life.?Martha Rosen, Edgewood School, Scarsdale, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

This original tale from San Souci (Kate Shelley, 1995, etc.), based on a colonial New England legend, makes a richly imagined and tenderly evocative love story. A traveling cobbler, Jonathan Dowse, comes to the home of Rebecca Wyse. She asks him to make new shoes for her, using the fancy red heels of an old pair that belonged to her mother and grandmother. Jonathan feels fear, for red heels are the sign of a witch. Spying on Rebecca that night, he finds ``her secret delight''--she dances on the moonlit pond. She sees him, and he dances, too; it becomes their nightly habit. Despite their growing mutual attachment, he feels he must go on to establish his own store. The next autumn Rebecca appears there and asks him to attach new shoes, suitable for a ``goodwife,'' to the red heels, for she can no longer dance without him. She ends up with two pairs--``One sturdy enough for the day's work; one airy enough for the night''- -and Jonathan has also made a dancing pair for himself. The couple wed, and flourish, and, occasionally, dance. The muted autumnal colors of Kelley's pastel illustrations make a fine foil for the unforced depths of this lovely tale: San Souci respects and rejoices in the workaday and magical dualities of life and love. What an extraordinary gift for young readers: a romance that hints at the real complexity of adult love without sentimentality, coyness, or sexism. (Picture book/folklore. 5-9) -- Copyright �1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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