Age: Preschool-1st grade

I truly love Marla Frazee--she is one of my favorite artists--so automatic three stars. The fourth star is for the devout friendship Boot and Shoe have for each other--and the squirrel chase scene.

As Boot and Shoe chase the squirrel around the house, the illustrations show duplicate images of dog chasing squirrel over every inch of the exterior. That is until squirrel got bored and walked away. With all the commotion of the scene, Frazee places the ending line "And walked away" exactly where the squirrel is walking away unnoticed off the page, drawing the reader's eye down to show the listener where the squirrel is going. A simple accomplishment, yet genius in its execution--a true sign of a children's illustrator/author that knows her audience's needs.