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Synopsis
Pete the Cat goes walking down the street wearing his brand-new white shoes. Along the way, his shoes change from white to red to blue to brown to WET as he steps in piles of strawberries, blueberries, and other big messes! But no matter what color his shoes are, Pete keeps movin' and groovin' and singing his song . . . because it's all good.
Children's Literature
When I read the picture book, I could not believe how simple yet creative it was. In a moment of intense jealousy, my anxious thought was, "That is so easy, I should have written the Pete the Cat story." Accessing the excitement of getting a new pair of shoes that every young reader in the picture book crowd remembers, Pete insists on wearing his new sneakers out of the store. Most children would think seriously about walking down the dirty street. What if they step in something? Pete has a song he sings about loving his white shoes. But "Oh no!" What did he step in? Now his new white shoes are red. But brave Pete never cries, just keeps walking and singing. A sharp child will wonder why Pete does not see those piles of stuff that will turn his white shoes a different color, especially the mud puddle. What on earth can Pete do? Luckily a bucket of water is his answer, but who wants to walk in wet, squeaky shoes? Eric Litwin has even offered a moral to Pete's story. James Dean is an engineer turned artist, but he never dreamed he'd end up drawing cat pictures. Obviously both Eric and James remember exactly what it was like to be a child. Eric, inspired by folk songs, fun, and folksy folks, is a guitar-strumming, song-singing, banjo-picking, tale-telling, harmonica-blowing guy. As the co-founder of The Learning Groove, he promotes early music education. Reviewer: JoAn Watson Martin