Shoe Chic: Shoe-La-La! by Karen Beaumont

PARTY DRESSES, PARTY HAIR...

NEED NEW PARTY SHOES TO WEAR!

Four young fashionistas must find footwear! Emily, Ashley, Kaitlyn, and Claire have a party to go to and they can't wait to choose new shoes for the fete!

Where else should they repair if not to that super stylish shoppe, Shoe-La-La, appropriately situated on the corner of Hightop and Oxford Streets? The clerk, elegantly turned out with his French mustache well-waxed, is ecstatic to see his four young customers, and the little style seekers are enthralled with his stock of merchandise:

SHOES WITH ZIPPERS, SHOES WITH STRAPS.

SHOES WITH BUCKLES, SHOES WITH TAPS!

The girls try on dozens, hundreds of pairs, seeking just the right slippers to grace their party gowns, from fringed cowgirl boots to bridal slippers, from poofy slippers to dainty Hepburnesque high heels, but the shoe seekers turn out to be savvy shoppers, wisely eschewing shoes that hurt their toes--or strain their budgets.

Finally, leaving Monsieur Shoe-La-La exhausted and sprawled over a mountain of rejected footwear, the four fashion lovers confess that nothing pleases them, and with a diva-esque "Sorry, Sir," take their leave.

Back home, it's custom design time. The four still-barefoot girls pull out their stash of ribbons, beads, feathers, and paints and recycle four pairs of old shoes into stylish party steppers:

SPARKLY DIAMONDS, PRETTY PEARLS!
RITZY, GLITZY GLAMOUR GIRLS!

Creatively refurbishing the plot of Stan and Jan Berenstain's classic Old Hat New Hat (Bright & Early Books(R)), Karen Beaumont's brand-new Shoe-La-La! (Scholastic, 2011) successfully celebrates the thrills of shopping and the fun of frugality, as the young fashion followers become their own personal designers. As in her earlier rhyming hits, I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! (ALA Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) and Doggone Dogs, done with artist David Catrow, Beaumont's witty and sparkling verse sparks the text, buoyantly illustrated by LeUyen Pham, whose own hits include Grace for President and the recent Bedtime for Mommy. Shoe-La-La! with four fashionistas who almost out-fancy Fancy Nancy Clancy, is sure to be popular with the many followers of pinkanista lit.