When author/illustrator Lita Judge found hundreds of tracings of feet in her grandmother’s attic, she was intrigued and moved to share the story behind them.
One Thousand Tracings tells that story. In the aftermath of World War II a family in America established contact with a family in Germany and to help them sent them supplies, including shoes. The German family was extremely grateful and asked if their American friends would help others in Europe. Soon shoe tracings from all over the continent started pouring in to the modest Midwest farm. The network of families helping from the U.S. started to grow so that ultimately hundreds of people on both sides of the Atlantic were touched by this remarkable process.
Illustrated with a combination of paintings and collages of original photographs and foot tracings, this moving story is a granddaughter’s tender tribute to her grandparent’s who organized this relief effort. By sending hope and kindness they began healing the wounds of war. It is powerful reminder of the importance of humanitarianism during wartime.
Judge bases this quiet, moving story of kindness and healing on her own family's history. After World War II, her grandparents organized a relief effort from their Midwest farm and sent care packages to more than 3,000 desperate people in Europe. In each spread, a young girl describes how she helps Mama with the packages. The stirring art in Judge's first picture book includes not only beautiful, full-page watercolor paintings of a family making a difference but also dramatic collages of black-and-white photos, newspaper cuttings, letters that Judge found in her grandparents' attic, and the foot tracings sent by Europeans desperate for shoes. There is no talk of the enemy. Judge focuses on the dramatic, realistic details of those in need ("We have only one pair of boots and must take turns") and the strength of those who fought "a battle to keep families alive" after the military battles were over. Rochman, Hazel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved