Book Review – Shoe Wars by Liz Pichon

Title: SHOE WARS

Author: Liz Pichon

Pub. Date: March 2, 2021

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 448

Find it:  Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Readers who have devoured Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the works of Raina Telgemeier will love the high-energy, hilarious antics of the Foot family from one of the largest names in the UK.

Step up to the challenge . . . win or shoes! Meet Ruby and Bear. Their dad has just invented the most amazing thing ever — flying shoes! But his horrible boss Wendy Wedge knows that entering flying shoes will guarantee the Golden Shoe Award, and she will do anything to win the trophy. Ruby and Bear must outwit a bully, infiltrate a shady company, and rescue their dad all while keeping the shoes hidden. This can only mean one thing. It’s . . . shoe wars! The brand new, laugh-out-loud, spectacular stand-alone story from multi-million copy bestselling author and illustrator Liz Pichon.

Praise for Liz Pichon’s Shoe Wars:

 THE SUNDAY TIMES ‘Book of the Year’ Selection

‘Jokey text does [SHOE WARS] fancy footwork on every illustrated page. Reluctant readers will march through it. – THE SUNDAY TIMES 

‘Every page here is dynamic and attention-grabbing, packed with cartoons and typeface trickery’ –FT

“An original and outrageous storyline gives plenty of scope for absurd inventions, loathsome baddies and heroic deeds from underequipped underdogs. This is a tale oozing creativity and packed with pen and ink illustrations, exciting and expressive typography and visual jokes.”

 –BOOKTRUST

 “Bursting with imagination and fabulous gadgets, SHOE WARS is full of Pichon’s characteristic warmth, humor and quirky illustrations.” –THE BOOKSELLER

“SHOE WARS is an exciting story with lively characters that offer plenty of laughs […] Like Pichon’s other books, it can be enjoyed as a funny, action-packed page-turner, but also as a comic book of cartoons so that children can keep returning to their favorite bits again and again.”–BOOKS FOR KEEPS 

THE IRISH TIMES ‘Best Books for Christmas’ Selection

THE SUN Christmas Gift Guide’ Selection

My Thoughts

Even the reluctant reader is bound to be drawn in by the use of lots of white space and illustrations. There’s never the feeling of being overwhelmed by too many words on a page.

And here’s the good thing, even if you’re not a fan of shoes or wars, this story is bound to cause you to flip-flop and change your mind. (Okay, the book made me do that!) You’ll even love the footnotes that are cleverly added to various pages.

Liz Pichon’s imagination and creativeness bring us a story about right and wrong, good and evil. On the good side, we have Ruby and Bear Foot, children of Ivor, whose wife Sally died in a mysterious accident. The Foot family is trying to keep a particular shoe that Sally created before her death hidden.

On the not-so-good side, we have Wendy Wedge and her spoiled rotten son, Walter. Wendy owns the biggest factory in town. She has recently taken over Ivor’s factory and if she has her way she will take over every shoe factory in town. But for now, she will settle with locating the Flying shoes that she knows Sally created. With those shoes, she’s sure to win the Golden Shoe Award.

And with that, the war is on.

These pages are filled with various fonts, text sizes, cartoon figures, and illustrations that will make this a delight for middle-graders.

What Concerned Me

As much as I enjoyed this story and the way it was presented, it felt too long. In time I began to lose interest in the story, footnotes, and the fun play on names. 

My Final Thoughts

 I’m anxious to see some “real” feedback. And that would have to come from kids. But meanwhile, I enjoyed it, even with it being a bit long, it was good.

My thanks to Rockstar Book Tours and the author for a copy of this story and the ability to post my opinion.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

About Liz: 

When Liz Pichon was
little, she loved to draw, paint and make things. Her mum used to say she was
very good at making a mess (which is still true today!). She kept drawing and
went to art school, where she earned a degree in graphic design. She worked as
a designer and art director in the music industry, and her freelance work has
appeared on a wide variety of products. Liz is the author-illustrator of
several picture books. Tom Gates is the first series of books she has written
and illustrated for older children. They have won several prestigious awards,
including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize,
and the Blue Peter Book Award. The books have been translated into 43 languages
worldwide. Visit her at lizpichon.com.

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**Giveaway**
Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of SHOE WARS, US Only.