Keeper of Soles - Hardcover

Teresa Bateman is a children's author and school librarian. She remembers one particular pair of hiking boot soles, which happened to rest too close to a campfire and melted a bit. On the trek back out of the woods, her soles picked up nearly ten pounds of dirt, bark, and moss. "The thing I've found about shoes," she says, "is that they usually have memories attached to them." She lives in Tacoma, Washington.

Kindergarten-Grade 4-Colin is a much beloved and somewhat magical cobbler whose expertly crafted shoes enhance the lives of all who wear them, even Death. While this is not Ingmar Bergman's Grim Reaper, the specter is shrouded in black and arrives to tell the shoemaker that it is his time. The quick-thinking man, noting that his visitor is barefoot, instantly creates a pattern for coffin-shaped sandals-to be ready in one month. Boots follow, then sportier walking shoes, slippers, and fancy court shoes, until, finally, Death allows no more distractions. When he reminds the artist that he has come for his soul, Colin retorts: And what do you think I've been giving you all these many years-ŠI've given you sole after sole. Death laughs, permitting a further extension. Bateman pairs the cadences of a traditional folktale with contemporary humor. The scenes are imbued with suspense without being macabre. Yayo's full-bleed acrylics provide large expanses of rich, layered colors as foils for the smaller, whimsical details: a floor filled with cleverly designed shoes; the plummeting thermometer nose on white-faced Death; a scarlet, clog-shaped bed. Dramatic changes to the horizon line add interest and momentum. Witty and urbane, yet full of child appeal, this tale would make an interesting follow-up to favorites in the established cobbler canon.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
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