Birdie's Big-Girl Shoes

October 19, 2009
Rim, whose illustrations accessorize the Web site DailyCandy, makes her authorial debut with a story of a girl who covets the fabulous high-heeled footwear of her stylish (and strikingly waifish) mother. When her mother finally relents and allows her daughter to play dress up with the contents of her shoe closet (that's right, a la Sex and the City, mom has a closet just for shoes), Birdie learns the answer to the question, "What price beauty?" For while the shoes represent that perfect, drool-worthy combination of improbable geometry and sublime superfluity, wearing them isn't child's play. "iding was impossible with pointy Mary Jane sticking out," Birdie discovers, and when it comes to turning cartwheels, "landing sure was tricky in sky-high stilettos." Rim's gossamer watercolors exude a breezy élan and they pop with luscious colorâthe pinks are especially juicy. The exaggerated scenes of Birdie trying on her mother's shoes are priceless (in one, she balances inside one shoe as if on a seesaw), and the target audience will identify both with Birdie's desire to play grownup and her epiphany that barefoot is better. Ages 3â6.

September 1, 2009
PreS-Doe-eyed Birdie, a budding five-year-old fashionista, is her ultra-stylish mother's eager wardrobe assistant, selecting jewelry, sunglasses, perfume, and shoes for Mom to wear each morning. When her mother finally grants Birdie permission to try on her closet full of "big-girl shoes," Birdie is thrilled. But she soon discovers that feeling glamorous in Mom's stilettos doesn't combine well with dancing or turning cartwheels, concluding that her "beautiful barefoot shoes" are still the best choice for her. (Practical girl, that Birdie!) The bold, stylized watercolor and collage illustrations, paired with spare, simple text, are set against ample white space and burst with bright, attractive textile patterns. A light confection for the preschool dress-up set."Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2009
Preschool-G First-time author and illustrator Rim doesnt stray far from her roots as a shoe designer and retail illustrator for this light confection about a little girl who covets her mothers high heels. The drawings retain a trendy fashion feel through an emphasis on spare lines and heavy patterns, but the playfulness of the detailsBirdies hot-pink toenails, her mothers Audrey Hepburnlike postureheightens the appeal for those yearning for more sophistication than whats offered by Jane OConnors Fancy Nancy. Birdie starts out only dreaming, wide-eyed, about the closetful of footwear Mom possesses. She loved her crocodile pumps and her summer peep-toes and all her strappy sandals. Once Birdie tries the big-girl shoes out, however, she finds theyre not all that practical for everything she has imagined, and are just plain awkward when cartwheeling and dancing. Her conclusionFor now, she liked her beautiful barefoot shoes most of allseems a fine, age-appropriate response, an antidote to any undue expectations that childhood be rushed through. How refreshing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
Birdie is eager to wear her mother's high-heeled shoes. However, when Mommy lets her play dress-up, Birdie learns that comfort is underrated. The story is a little message-y ("Birdie decided she wasn't quite ready for grown-up shoes--yet"), but the writing has verve. Stylish watercolor and collage illustrations featuring sharp lines and bold colors would be at home in a fashion magazine.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)