Module 6: Boot & Shoe

Image retrieved from Amazon.com

Book Summary: Boot and Shoe are brothers (dogs) who live together and share everything, except that during the day, Boot stays on the back porch, and Shoe prefers the front porch. One day, a squirrel comes along and entices both dogs to come off their porches and chase it. The dogs chase the squirrel until they each fall down, exhausted. When they awaken, Boot finds himself on the front porch, and Shoe is on the back porch. They are confused and sad because the other is not on the porch with them, in his usual spot. They look all around the other's porch for their brother, but he is nowhere to be found. They decide they will wait for the other one, and not leave their porch. This means they miss dinner, and at bedtime, they stay on the porches, cold, instead of getting into their warm bed. They even walk around the house at the same time, but can't find the other because he is looking for them on the other side. After waiting up all night, each dog is crying on the porch when they have to relieve themselves. Lo and behold, they find each other at the tree! They are so happy and tired, they go to bed even though it's morning.

APA Reference:

Frazee, M. (2012). Boot & Shoe. New York: Beach Lane Books.

Impressions: I thought this story was so cute! As a dog lover, I felt so heartbroken for Boot and Shoe when they were so sad and confused. I enjoyed watching them chase the squirrel and spend so much time trying to find each other. I thought the illustrations played a big part in my enjoyment of the book because their sad puppy faces were so realistic (while still cartoonish), and Frazee did a great job of capturing the essence of dogs and how they look when they are feeling different emotions or trying to puzzle something out. I think kids of all ages (and even adults) can appreciate this book and find it entertaining. It would also be a great choice for an inexperienced reader, because of its short sentences, and it has a lot of lessons about spatial awareness woven in. For example, when Boot and Shoe are looking for each other, there is a lot of repetition about where and how they are looking, using different prepositions, each with an illustration so this book could be used to teach prepositions and/or spatial awareness.

Professional Review (from Horn Book Guide):

"Dogs Boot and Shoe share a lot of things, but Boot prefers the back porch and Shoe, the front. A squirrel gets both dogs riled up enough to give chase; each ends up on the wrong porch--and decides to wait for the other. The sprightly lines of Frazee's black pencil and gouache illustrations add to the humor of this nimble tale of misplaced assumptions."

Frazee, Marla. Boot & Shoe [Review of the book Boot & Shoe, by M. Frazee]. (2013). Horn Book              Guide, 24(1), 9. 

Library Uses: I think this book could be used as part of a fun pet-themed lesson for younger students. Students could be told ahead of time to bring pictures of their pets and could tell each other about silly things their pets have done. This could be segued into a discussion about misconceptions and how we deal with misunderstandings. Students could come up with an alternate version of the story in which Boot and Shoe make different choices and don't have to spend the night all alone.