One shoe, two shoe, red shoe, blue shoe.
October 8, 2010 5:57 PM Subscribe
I'm trying to identify a picture book I read as a kid. Basically all I remember about it is the main character (a girl, I think) wore or wanted to wear one red shoe and one blue shoe.
The other day I bought two pairs of shoes, exactly the same except one pair was red and one pair was blue. Trying one on each foot dug up this memory. I want to say that they were Mary Jane-ish shoes, although they could have been sneakers. I think maybe the colors were darker and somewhat muted rather than being bright, but I can't be sure. In particular I can see the color of the blue shoe, which I think is pretty dang close to the shoes I just bought. I also feel like I might remember something about the girl's mother not wanting her to wear two different colored shoes. It is absolutely driving me CRAZY, and searching the web has just yielded other people asking about the same book. I'm 22, so I would've had this book in the early to mid-90's.
(A picture of the two shoes together is here, just in case they might give someone else the same kind of "Aha!" moment they gave me. Like I said, I think the colors in the book were really similar to those.)
The other day I bought two pairs of shoes, exactly the same except one pair was red and one pair was blue. Trying one on each foot dug up this memory. I want to say that they were Mary Jane-ish shoes, although they could have been sneakers. I think maybe the colors were darker and somewhat muted rather than being bright, but I can't be sure. In particular I can see the color of the blue shoe, which I think is pretty dang close to the shoes I just bought. I also feel like I might remember something about the girl's mother not wanting her to wear two different colored shoes. It is absolutely driving me CRAZY, and searching the web has just yielded other people asking about the same book. I'm 22, so I would've had this book in the early to mid-90's.
(A picture of the two shoes together is here, just in case they might give someone else the same kind of "Aha!" moment they gave me. Like I said, I think the colors in the book were really similar to those.)
Response by poster: THAT'S IT!! I could've sworn it was a human girl, but I recognized the cover instantly. Now, if only I could find a view of the inside, I'd be set. Thanks so much!
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 6:40 PM on October 8, 2010
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 6:40 PM on October 8, 2010
Response by poster: Ah, here we go. If anyone else is interested, I think this is the last page of the book, where you can see the red shoes and the blue shoes, although not together: link
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 6:57 PM on October 8, 2010
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 6:57 PM on October 8, 2010
I also feel like I might remember something about the girl's mother not wanting her to wear two different colored shoes.
FWIW - my daughter used to lose socks, so she would very often just wear 2 different colored ones of the same shape. I (her mother) was not upset at all about it, and it became sort of a thing for her, to the point that she would buy 2 pairs of similar socks and purposely wear them mismatched.
I totally think you should wear those 2 different colored shoes to a fun event and tell your friends the story of the book and your memories.
posted by CathyG at 8:27 AM on October 9, 2010
FWIW - my daughter used to lose socks, so she would very often just wear 2 different colored ones of the same shape. I (her mother) was not upset at all about it, and it became sort of a thing for her, to the point that she would buy 2 pairs of similar socks and purposely wear them mismatched.
I totally think you should wear those 2 different colored shoes to a fun event and tell your friends the story of the book and your memories.
posted by CathyG at 8:27 AM on October 9, 2010
Didn't Pippi Longstocking wear different colored shoes?
posted by mdiskin at 1:27 PM on October 9, 2010
posted by mdiskin at 1:27 PM on October 9, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I was going to suggest Ollie the Stomper. It's part of a series about Gossie and Gertie (two goslings that wear red and blue boots, respectively). In Oliie the Stomper, Ollie ends up in one red boot and one blue boot. There's no mother in the picture so that doesn't work and I think it's too new for you to have read a kid but I mention it in case you're remembering something more recent.
posted by macfly at 6:20 PM on October 8, 2010