The Sandal Artist

Gr 1–3—In this original parable, an artist named Roberto seeks greatness by focusing his talent only on what is superficially beautiful and passes by lesser subjects such as ragged children and an old peddler, declaring that great artists paint only "bright and wonderful things." One day, Roberto takes his shoes to the cobbler to fix, and the cobbler lends him an old pair of sandals, telling him that by wearing someone else's shoes, "you will see the world with his eyes and feel it with his heart." On his journey home, he finally notices the intrinsic beauty of those around him and desires to paint them. Asking the cobbler whose shoes he's been wearing, the cobbler responds, "Some say that they were the shoes of a fisherman. Others say that he was a carpenter." As might be expected with a moral tale, the text has a didactic quality that is both predictable and implicitly religious. Added to this, the somber hues and heavy brush strokes of the full-page illustrations, while deftly painted in an impressionistic style, ultimately overwhelm the text. The result is a book that is well meaning and visually striking, but not entirely successful. Still, those looking for something with a strong and obvious message might find it appealing.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library