The Red Shoes
Grade 2–6—A retelling of the much darker Hans Christian Andersen tale. Karen, daughter of the town shoemaker, is poor, but dreams of the day when she can make beautiful shoes. Her mother has been constructing a pair from leftover scraps of red leather as a birthday surprise, but becomes ill and dies. Heartbroken, Karen wears the red shoes to the funeral. When an evil queen demands to have them within three days even though they "had grown fast" to Karen's feet, the girl finds a solution with the help of her mother's spirit. Unlike the didactic Andersen tale, all ends well for the shoemaker's daughter as she learns that she can realize her dreams. This book is exceptionally well illustrated with intricate black line drawings that dominate the cream-colored pages and add drama and intensity to the simple text. The endpapers have multiple shoe designs.—C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.