Oh, the wonder of nice, clean new shoes! When Mako's mother takes her to get a new pair of clogs for school, she looks at all the lovely colors before choosing a beautiful, shiny red pair. She is so pleased with the way they look and the wonderful noise they make as she walks along. While playing a game with her friends, Mako cracks one of her beautiful clogs, and she quickly grows disenchanted with them. Is Mako desperate enough for a new pair that she will do something dishonest? Read this story to find out! 32 pgs, pb. ~Sara
Part of Five in a Row volume one.
A child’s delight in a new pair of shoes is the same all
over the world, whether the shoes are patent-leather sandals, straw alpargatas,
deerskin moccasins, or wooden clogs.
For Mako, a little Japanese girl, the new shoes were clogs painted with red lacquer that shone beautifully. This is the story of what happened after she cracked the new clogs playing the weather-telling game and so longed for a bright, shiny new pair to replace them that she almost did a dishonest thing.
The warmth and quiet understanding of the grandmother who, remembering her own temptations as a little girl, recalls this story for her granddaughter, makes A Pair of Red Clogs especially moving. Kazue Mizumura’s charming illustrations are as delicate and graceful as the story itself.
I'm teaching a co-op class using the great book lists from Five in a Row. This is a delightful title to help introduce other cultures to the students.
This is on the Five in a Row Volume I book list.
To go along with Five in a Row.
Going to use this book with Five In a Row volume 1.