Book Review: Slippery Willie’s Stupid Ugly Shoes

Slippery Willie cover

I had an opportunity to review this wonderful book entitled “Slippery Willie’s Stupid Ugly Shoes” by Larry Peterson.

This book tells about the story of Willie who had feet so slippery that his shoes and socks would slip off his feet even while he’s seated. Doctors were unable to find out why his feet were so slippery so as a solution to his problem, special shoes were made for him — thus the title “Slippery Willie’s Stupid Ugly Shoes”.

Willie hated these shoes because he felt they were ugly. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to wear them to school and when he did, everyone laughed at him, his classmates, his teacher, the principal, the school building, the birds, the passengers on an airplane, drivers on the street and even his mom.

He felt so embarrassed that he begged his mom to take the locks off the shoes so he can stop wearing them. His mom said she can’t because she lost the keys. Eventually, Willie realized he was just dreaming and when he did wear the shoes, they even elicited praises from those who saw them.

MY REVIEW:

I really appreciate the intention of Larry Peterson in this book. I remember when I was child, I would imagine being embarrassed in front of people when in the first place, there isn’t really anything to worry about.

I remember being embarrassed that my mom would cook and make me bring my lunch to school. I was embarrassed that she would make me a sandwich instead of just letting me buy junk food in the school cafeteria. As a child, I had a lot of fears and apprehensions that were unreasonable.

And this book captures just that, how a child’s imagination can affect the way they relate with others. This book makes the reader realize that sometimes we just need to understand that different people have different situations, different preferences, different ideas.

And just because others are different doesn’t mean that it gives us license to make fun of them or maybe even hate them. We have to understand that God has created us to be unique and we need to accept and love our uniqueness.

I also love how the book ends with an interactive part where questions are asked for the reader to think about. It doesn’t stop at just telling a story. It goes further to engage the reader and encourage him/her to apply what he/she learned based on Willie’s story.

This book is an excellent read for a child and the child-at-heart. No matter what situation they find themselves in life, it is always good to be reminded to respect yourself and respect others. Buy the book at slipperywillie.com. Check out Larry Peterson’s Facebook.

Comments

Book Review: Slippery Willie’s Stupid Ugly Shoes — 12 Comments

  1. Hi Alice–thanks so much for doing the review. I am so glad that you enjoyed it and the message it delivers. Thanks again.
    Best wishes and have a Happy Thanksgiving
    Larry Peterson

  2. Alice, I really appreciate how beautifully you summed up the inherent message in Larry’s book. Your review is so well done and really focuses in on the heart of what it’s all about. You’re right – we’ve all been there as a child, when the last thing we wanted to do is stick out and be different.

  3. This seems like a nice book and you have hit the nail on the head. – Lets teach kids to be acceptant of all. We are all different and alike.

  4. I think this is a great book to teach children tolerance. Thank you for your review!

  5. Thanks for sharing this – I hadn’t heard of this book but we are dealing with this in my family right now. My daughter is really self-conscious and I’m trying to tell her that everyone is just thinking about how they look and for the most part they don’t notice her small imperfections.