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Boot & Shoe | September 18, 2013

by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster, 2012)

In case you missed it last year: pick up two-time Caldecott Honor medalist Marla Frazee’s latest picture book, Boot & Shoe, for a story that will warm your heart as the weather cools. Boot and Shoe, two dogs from the same litter, are inseparable—except that Boot is a back porch kind of dog, and Shoe is a front porch kind of dog. They’re content sitting on their respective porches until, one day, a troublesome squirrel gets “all up in their business.” Boot and Shoe end up on the wrong porches after a spirited squirrel chase. Distressed, each dog waits through the long, lonely night for his brother, not knowing he’s on the other side of the house. Their joyful reunion takes place as the sun rises: Boot and Shoe serendipitously meet at—where else?—their favorite tree to pee on.

I won’t lie—this book made me cry. But it also made me laugh at all the right moments, and the happy ending is so satisfying in its simplicity. Marla Frazee is a master of both picture book text and illustration; in 32 pages, she manages to strike a number of emotional notes and achieve a perfect pace for the story. The beauty of her pencil-and-gouache drawings is in the details: the dogs’ paws, their one distinguishing characteristic; the hilarious, intricate squirrel chase spread; the changing texture and color of the darkening night as Boot and Shoe wait (and wait, and wait). If Boot & Shoe has a take-home message, it’s about friendship and loyalty, and who better to show us those values than a pair of adorable dogs?

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