Sneakers: The cool stories and facts behind every pair by Stephanie Warren Drimmer, illustrated by Dan Sipple

This is a new series from Union Square Kids, called "How it Works" which features the origins and development of common items. Now, I have to admit I'm not particularly interested in shoes, except in my dislike of shoe shopping and annoyance that they never seem to fit me, but I was (unwillingly) drawn into this lively narrative.

The book begins with the discovery of the oldest shoes, 9,000 year old sandals, and an exploration of the development of rubber. The book briefly addresses the atrocities inflicted on indigenous peoples by white colonists collecting rubber, but does not refer to it again. The development of sports and athletics is interwoven with pictures of old-style shoes and the eventual creation of the first basic sneakers, Keds. The books moves on to the rival firms of Adidas and Puma, and the brothers who founded them, then explores various famous shoe brands like Nike, Converse, and Vans. There is also a section dedicated to sneaker collectors and limited edition shoes created for these collectors.

Brightly colored illustrations and historical and modern photographs of athletes, shoes, and ad campaigns are sprinkled throughout the book. It ends with some current experiments and future projections, a timeline, and activities for kids to use to spark their own innovative designs. A glossary, index, and image credits are also included.

At just under 200 pages, this is very accessible and the book is formatted as a slightly larger chapter book. Excepting the brief mention of the horrific abuses of early rubber plantations, the book does not address any of the controversies or negatives around the shoe industry, including child labor, deforestation, and pollution.

Verdict: Although limited in scope, this is a lively nonfiction choice that definitely fills a gap in nonfiction collections; previously the closest thing to this series was the shorter From an idea to... from Clarion. This should be a popular choice for many readers and although the hardcover is expensive (and the binding looks poor to me) there is a paperback edition available, which means it can also be requested in prebound. A recommended purchase.

ISBN: 9781454945123; Published April 2023 by Union Square Kids; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to my order list