Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes

I was able to review a super cute children’s book called “Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes” by Larry Peterson.  Such a cute story about a boy Willie who “had slippery feet. They were so slippery that Willie just slipped, slid and spun all over the place”.
Willie gets new “Stupid, Ugly” shoes that help him walk without slipping, but they are so ugly that Willie doesn’t want to wear them.
What I like the most about this story is the message that kids (us adults too!!) we sometimes worry about things so much that we make it a much bigger deal than it really is.  This story also helps children see that we all have differences.  Differences are good!  It makes us special.  Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes stresses that it’s okay to be different in a way that kids understand.
The book is geared to 4 to 8 year olds.  But, I read it out loud to my Granddaughter Emma (3) and she enjoyed it.
The art work is excellent.  Bright and colorful.
At the end of the book there are several suggested activities to do with your kids. The activities are geared for the older kids and I wasn’t able to do them very well with Emma.  However through out the book I asked questions like “Would you laugh at Willie and make him sad?”   When the kids are older the activities will be a definite part of this story time. This book is a great addition to our reading library.    Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes is available to purchase here.
For the record… Emma says the shoes are pretty.

I will be participating in the Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes blog tour on November 11th, 2011.  I’ll post more information when I get it.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.