New Shoes

Description

When her brothers hand-me-down shoes dont fit it is time for Ella Mae to get new ones. She is ecstatic but when she and her mother arrive at Mr. Johnsons shoe store her happiness quickly turns to dejection. Ella Mae is forced to wait when a white customer arrives after her and is served first. Ella Mae is unable even to try on the shoes because of her skin color. Determined to fight back Ella Mae and her friend Charlotte work tirelessly to collect and restore old shoes wiping washing and polishing them to perfection. The girls then have their very own shoe sale giving the other African American members of their community a place to buy shoes where they can be treated fairly and “try on all the shoes they want.” Set in the South during the time of segregation this stunning picture book brings the civil rights era to life for contemporary readers.”

“In this historical fiction picture book Ella Mae and her cousin Charlotte both African American start their own shoe store when they learn that they cannot try on shoes at the shoe store”–(publisher)
32 pages
Ages 6-9 years