Me and my boots by Penny Harrison

Bronte. Illus. by Evie Barrow. Little Hare, 2019. ISBN: 9781760502331. 24pp.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Themes: Boots, Personality, Family, Activities. Bronte's boots never leave her feet. She loves them and in this charming tale of family relationships each person tells her what they mean to them. Some people call them her bossy boots, queen of all the land boots, but Bronte tells us that is not really her. Mum calls them her brave-girl boots, Da her bright-eye boots, Gran her big-dream boots, Pa calls them her you-beaut boots, Ben, her brother calls them her bear-hug boots as they snuggle into the chair to read together, her teacher calls them her bustling boots as she rushes around the classroom doing jobs. Each person in her family and friendship group have a different perception of who Bronte is, and use the boots as a measure of her personality. We see her in various places: home, the school and playground, interacting with members of her family and those outside her family: friends, school friends and the teacher. Each sees her differently.
Barrow's stylish illustrations hit the mark as they show a young skirted Bronte doing a variety of activities, interacting with various members of her peer group and family, acting out various personas. And the readership will love looking for the details in Barrow's illustrations, comparing the things in the house and bedroom with those they have at home, drawing them closer to the girl in the centre of the story. And at the end of the tale we learn what Bronte thinks her boots reflect, herself.
Fran Knight