Red Shoes

Red shoes glowing–
Perched on a pedestal in the shop window
as if on a throne.
I want those, Nana, Malika says, as they pass the shop.
We’ll see, Nana says with a wink. Looks like you could use a new pair.

Malika is delighted when Nana surprises her with a beautiful new pair of red shoes! And with a click-clack-click and a swish, swish, swish, Malika wears her wonderful new shoes everywhere she goes. But one day, the shoes begin to pinch Malika’s toes. And alas, they don’t let her forget that her feet have grown! Soon Malika and Nana are off to the Rare Finds Resale Shop, where the shoes can be resold — so somebody else can enjoy them!

Who will be the next to wear the red shoes?Malika wonders.

Then Inna Ziya buys the shoes, and readers follow the shoes all the way across the world to Ghana in Africa, where Amina, another little girl, who has fasted her first time for Ramadan is about to get an amazing gift!

Karen English and Ebony Glenn have crafted a satisfying and heartwarming story about a pair of shoes, two girls, and a connection they share across continents.