© 2000 Terry Widener
Client: Orchard Books
Medium: Acrylic on Paper
Size: Various sizes
Use: Children's Book
Title: "Shoe Magic"

AWARDS
Nest Library Classics Fall 2000 selection.
Bank Street College Best Book of the Year

REVIEWS

From School Library Journal
" Widener's exuberant acrylic paintings capture the joys and hopes expressed in each of the poems.
A multicultural cast of boys and girls engage in sports activities, perform onstage, and enjoy the outdoors.
Their elongated arms and legs seem to be in constant motion and make an interesting contrast to the
rounded shape of their faces. This collection clearly celebrates its child readers.
By KATHLEEN WHALIN, Greenwich Country Day School, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
"The bright, foot-centric artwork, brimming with fanciful, stylized shapes, plays up the diverse speakers'
exuberance and energy, though the pictures work best when paired with a poem on a white background."
By GILLIAN ENGBERG
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
 

School Library Journal
..."The illustrations are delightful and the book offers promise to children, encouraging them to set their sights above the obvious.
A good book for a parent or caregiver to share one-on-one with a youngster. 2000, Orchard Books/Grolier,
 

Review by Horn Book Review
Shoes serve as metaphors for imagination and possibility in this collection of sixteen poems. In Cleats, Clarice dreams of being the running back for a football team,
Talisha's Toe Shoes find her dancing in [cf2]The Nutcracker,[cf1] Soft Soles reveals Kyle's plan for becoming a nurse like his dad. Bright acrylic paintings emphasize
the oversized footwear, portraying a multiethnic cast trying on the shoes of their dreams. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, Copyright © The Horn Book, used with permission.
From HORN BOOK, Copyright © The Horn Book, used with permission.

Kirkus Reviews
"...these poems profile children trying on shoes for the future. Tap shoes for Marc; cleats for Clarice; hiking boots; toe shoes; a nurse's shoes like Dad's for Kyle; sturdy work boots,
and more, always making certain to avoid gender stereotypes. Grimes weaves subtle messages of power through her bright, breezy language—'Still, his boots/Hold him steady/Once
he's ready/To fix/The world.' Or, in the case of African-American 'Talisha's Toe Shoes', "Someday I'll dance/The Nutcracker/ (My dream too long deferred)./ My arabesque/Will be so
fine/They'll redefine the word." The sunny tone is matched in Widener's acrylics with round-headed, rubber-limbed children of all ethnicities wearing oversized footgear, exuberantly
dancing, skiing, skating, swimming...playing. Dreamers and doers both will find inspiration here."