Because of a Shoe

As a red-haired child’s feelings get big and bigger—“because of a shoe/ (a too-tight shoe/ a too-loose shoe)/ you are screaming/ and you don’t want to be screaming”—smartly rhythmic verse from Fogliano (All the Beating Hearts) traces the ordeal’s escalation in this compassionate picture book. An adult patiently attempts to defuse the situation, but as the child’s response deepens, lively colored pencil and paint illustrations by Frazee (In Every Life) transform a yellow-toned living room into a darkly hatched, seemingly inescapable vortex where the child resolves to “live on the floor.” Finally, the caretaker, too, succumbs to frustration. But at what seems like emotional bottom, the two pale-skinned figures catch their breath and rediscover that, no matter the circumstances, “you are still you/ (funny sweet you)/ and i am still me/ (funny sweet me).” The art’s chaotic scribbles dissolve into domestic peace, and the sturm und drang seems like yesterday’s news. Everyone has inexplicable moments when trivial triggers unleash frustration and chaos. But with levity and tenderness and an assuring “even when” refrain, the creators affirm that love persists through emotionally overwhelming moments, and that one can go back to putting one foot in front of another—shod or otherwise. Ages 2–5. Agent (for Fogliano and Frazee): Steven Malk, Writers House. (Feb.)