If the Shoe Fits - Hardcover

Soto, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399234209 ISBN 13: 9780399234200

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 2002

Synopsis

Rigo doesn't like being the youngest brother. He always has to wear his big brothers' hand-me-downs. Plus, his brothers-Hector, Manuel, and Carlos-always seem to lose buttons, rip holes, and wear the clothes out before they get to Rigo! But Rigo's luck changes on his birthday when his mom gives him a pair of shoes. He loves them for their shine and style, but most of all he loves them because they are brand-new. After he outgrows the shoes, and trades them to his uncle for old Mexican centavos, Rigo learns that some hand-me-downs are better than brand-new.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Soto (Too Many Tamales; Baseball in April) sizes up the eponymous adage just right in this picture-book peek at a large Mexican-American family. As the youngest son in a household of growing kids, Rigo often gets stuck wearing frayed and ill-fitting hand-me-downs. So he's especially thrilled to receive a pair of brand-new penny loafers for his ninth birthday. But when a neighborhood tough makes fun of Rigo's fancy footwear, Rigo hides the loafers away. However, when Rigo needs to wear the shoes a few months later, they no longer fit him. The situation presents Rigo with an opportunity to see hand-me-downs with new eyes when he thoughtfully presents the almost-new loafers to his uncle, who can make good use of them. A realistic, consistently sensitive undercurrent of emotion runs throughout this swift-moving tale, so that it delivers its message with seeming spontaneity. Careful details help develop Rigo as a strong, intriguing character. Widener's (The Babe and I) highly stylized paintings combine creamy color tones and dynamic shapes. The buoyancy of the art, like the intimacy of the prose, enhances the story's liveliness. Ages 5-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Ages 4-8. Rigo, the youngest in his big, immigrant family, is tired of wearing everyone's hand-me-downs, so he's thrilled when he gets a brand-new pair of fancy loafers of his very own. He feels "suave." But when the local bully teases him, he puts away the shiny shoes, only to find out later that he has outgrown them. He gives the shoes to his uncle, who gives Rigo a hand-me-down from Mexico, something that is old and valuable. Many kids will recognize Rigo's resentment at being at the end of the line, and they'll enjoy Widener's computer-generated, cartoon-style art, in bright colors and bold, clear shapes that exaggerate the situation--from the close-up of Rigo's glowering face to the farce of his trying to squeeze his big feet into the shiny shoes. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0399234209
• ISBN 13: 9780399234200
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Widener Terry