Red Shoes!

As I browse through some of my earliest blogposts almost a decade ago, I find that an oft repeated reflection on my part has always been “I wish I had a daughter” and such a longing was borne out of a desire to enjoy reading books that my pre-schooler was quick to dismiss as “girlie books”! Be it the Fancy Nancy series, or the Knuffle Bunny (which I though admit my son enjoyed too!), or books with little girls as protagonists fascinated with what is ordinarily termed as girl-specific choices, I found myself yearning for a daughter to read to! Now that I have a daughter, while we enjoy reading the very same stories that Abhay was not so enthusiastic about, I haven’t been able to chronicle our experiences on Onestoryaday as often as I wanted to. Of course, there are other trappings of having a daughter which I didn’t foresee, some of which can prove to be expensive affairs along with the way! (Of course, boys too have their own fetishes that aren’t exactly easy on the pocket!) For instance, our little five-year old fashionista already has the most number of footwear in our house; Our little style icon is too fastidious about how her clothing, the choice of colours, matching accessories, hairstyles, etc; Our little fashion expert is also the first one to compliment someone on their outfit, or their hairstyle, or a striking accessory! She has even complimented our maid on the colour of her sari! 😊

So as I was browsing through the shelves of Sankar’s bookstore at Rangashankara recently, I knew I had found a likely favourite in “Red Shoes- A dazzling journey” by Karen English and illustrated by Ebony Glenn. Malika is fascinated by the dazzling red shoes she sees perched on the pedestal on the shop display and tries to get her nana to buy them for her to As they return home, Nana unwraps the surprise and Malika cant take her eyes off the red shoes nestled amidst the tissue paper. From then on….red shoes become highlight of every one of Malika’s outing….at her aunt’s wedding or Nana’s Christmas party or playdate with her best friend Kiesha….Mallika goes click-clack-clack all the way in her red shoes, which is witness to many of her mischiefs, fights and her growing up experiences, including Malika’s desperate attempts to fit into her favourite red shoes that sadly now seem small for her….prompting nana to give them away to be resold at a Resale-Thrift store. As she bids farewell to what has been a significant part of her growing up, she can’t help but wonder a few days later as to where her red shoes are………read on to find out the dazzling journey of the red shoes in spreading joy and good cheer amongst the little girls who don them! Narrated in simple text and partly in verse format, and illustrations beautifully enhancing the reading experience, this book can take you back to your prized possessions of your childhood too! Needless to say…Aadya loved it and has already petitioned for red shoes to be added to her ever growing collection! I remember many years ago, before having graduated to being parents, we were flabbergasted at seeing a newly furnished walk-in wardrobe exclusively for shoes that our older cousin had got done for his teenage daughters and we swore never to fall for something like that, if at all we had a daughter! Now…. we are already thinking of something like that ….and our daughter is not even a teenager! 😊