Footprints in the clouds by Zhiwei Xing

Starfish Bay Children's Books, 2019. ISBN 9781760360559.
(Age: 4+) Themes: Fantasy, Imagination, Adventure. Tom is an adventurous young boy, donning his red socks which take him to places he wants to go. His magical socks allow him to climb onto rooftops and high mountains, swim in the deep rivers, play hide and seek in the clouds. But one day an animal tells him that his socks are not on his feet. Bereft, Tom then retraces his steps, swimming the deep rivers, climbing the high mountains, sitting on rooftops and talking to the animals, asking the same question, 'Have you see my magical red socks?'
But one animal takes him to see Zebra, the clever animal who points out that Tom has no need of his red socks as he has done all the work himself.
This is a witty look at imagination and how it comes from inside, reinforcing the idea that everyone has an imagination to be nourished and used.
Starfish Bay Children's Books is an independent publishing house located in Adelaide, South Australia. It aims to publish quality picture books for children primarily aged 3 to 8, from international and national sources, with first-rate literary and artistic content. Established in 2014, by Luke Hau, this philosophy continues as his company breaks into the USA market.
While some of the publications offer an imaginative exploration of the world, some of the Starfish Bay books need to be looked at more closely to see what the book offers your school.
With Footsteps in the clouds, although I liked the idea of the book, the layout left the boy half hidden in the fold in the centre of the book several times, and I found the busy-ness of the pages somewhat overwhelming.
Fran Knight