"Keeper of Soles" is a story about Colin, the town shoemaker who has a talent for making incredible shoes. He is visited one evening by Death, and Colin sets out to delay the inevitable as long as possible by making Death shoes. This story almost feels like a folktale to me (maybe Dutch?) and didn't go down the darker path I thought it would go down. Instead it turned out to be a light-hearted tale. I'm not a big fan of the illustrations, but I do like how Death wasn't portrayed as a grim reaper type of figure in the book. I believe this book is written more for children in 3rd grade and up. I could see myself using this book to encourage creativity in students.

Read because I've enjoyed another work by Bateman. ?áSo glad I did. ?áThis is so funny, and smart, and I've been in such a reading slump lately - tears of joy actually pricked my eyes. ?áThe pictures aren't at all pretty, but they're perfect for the book, making the text come alive and telling the story in their own way. ?áThe details in the pix are wonderful - look for all the hidden shoe shapes as you read.

Now, if you can, avoid learning what the book is about before reading it. ?áSee the cover, trust my recommendation, and go into innocent, just the way I did. ?áI think you'll enjoy it even more that way. ?á Otoh, I did read it twice in a row, and enjoyed it the second time, so it's fine with fore-knowledge, too.?á

Oh, and extra points for a few choice vocabulary words. ?áGive kids a chance early in life to learn that bemused is not a synonym for amused.... ( )

Death comes for Colin, the best shoemaker in the kingdom, in this amusing twist on a trickster tale. Instead of giving up his soul, Colin notices Death is barefoot and offers to make him a pair of sandals, to be ready in four weeks. When Death returns, Colin fits him with the sandals and tells him to try them out for a couple of weeks. Death comes back and Colin offers to make him a pair of boots. Again and again, over years, Colin puts Death off with a new pair of shoes. Finally Death demands his due, Colin's soul, and Colin insists he's given Death "sole after sole." Once again Death is put off but he promises to return when his shoes wear out, which, given the quality of Colin's handiwork will not happen for many years. ( )

The story is about a character Death who keeps coming back to the cobbler's house to steal his soul. But the cobbler prolongs his life by offering to custom make shoes for Death. He makes great quality shoes. Death tells him that he'll come back when his last pair of shoes get used up. The shoes' quality guaranteed a long life for the cobbler.

I love the use of descriptive words and creative illustrations. This particular combination creates a story that is as magical as the content of the story itself.

Examples of descriptive words include: thudding, cold wind slithered, dread, starless nights, truthful, bare, startled, casually, foreign, bemused, flustered, reluctantly, urged, delighted, and ominous. The use of wonderful adjectives depict the content of the story beautifully. It indicates the mood of what is going on.

The illustrations are colorful, unique, and even humorous. I laughed out loud when I saw a picture of a ridiculous pair of shoes the character Death was wearing. The shoes look three feet tall and have colors you would see in a clown's wig. The contrast between Death's intention of taking Colin's soul and Colin giving him soles is a fun dynamic that is played with throughout the story.

The main message of the story is that putting quality into your work for others does pay off. It is better to be honest and true rather than be greedy and dishonest. ( )

This story is clever and humorous! I enjoyed reading it and will share it with my future students. This book involves a famous shoe maker who makes everyone's shoe in town. Death has come for his soul; Colin, the shoemaker, is humbled by his presence and begins to make he every pair of shoe imaginable. Death questions this at first but begins to enjoy his new shoes. When Death comes to ask for Colin's soul for the last time, he learns Colin has already given him many soles! This book is extremely clever and will appeal to many readers. ( )