This is a realistic fiction picture book for students in the first to second grade. I LOVED reading this book! I think this book should definitely be in every classroom. It confronts issues like poverty, bullying, and self-esteem, and exemplified how someone could overcome any of these obstacles with a little creativity and hope. I loved how the character was so optimistic and found all the good things in the little that she had. Even when she was confronted with her bully, Prudy, who even tried to ruin her only pair of her beloved shoes, the main character, Delly, made the best of it. She was upset about her shoes at first, but she put her artistic ability to the test and made the shoes more beautiful than before with a new painted coat. The ending was perfect too; at the shoebox auction I loved how Delly’s decorated shoe box had the highest bid of the entire class, but then the reader finds out it was her poor father that sacrificed the little money he had to show that his daughter and her talents were priceless. Such a heart-warming book! The central message of this book is making the best of what you have, and that creativity and resourcefulness will take you far. ( )

Poor in material things, but rich in artistic talent and family love, young Delly Porter didn't mind going to school barefoot. After all, she enjoyed the feeling of the dirt under her feet, from the sandy spots, to the silky smooth ones. But when her beloved teacher, Miss Violet, informed the class that they would be holding a Shoebox Social - in which each pupil would decorate a shoebox, and then they would be auctioned off - to raise money for art supplies, and Delly saw the most beautiful pair of orange shoes in the window of Sussman's Department Store, she was filled with longing. Her father, scraping by with two new truck tires, instead of four, fulfilled her fondest dreams, and Delly, ecstatic at finally having something beautiful to wear, brought her new orange shoes to school. Her dismay, when her cruel schoolmates, angry that a "dirt poor" girl like Delly should have something so lovely, trample her beautiful shoes, is indescribable. Has this precious gift been ruined by their spitefulness...?

A poignant tale of a poor farm girl with a rich inner vision, and warm family life, The Orange Shoes addresses some important issues - poverty, classism (Delly is targeted, not for being poor, but for getting "above" herself), bullying, art as a means of coping with negative emotions, and family love - in a gentle and non-preachy way. Trinka Hakes Noble's story could so easily have descended into treacly sentimentality, but she resists the impulse to transform her heroine into a paragon (Delly waving her foot in the face of Prudy Winfield, the bully ringleader, was just priceless!), keeping her a believable, and very winsome little girl instead. Delly's father emerges as a very appealing character as well: strong, loving and supportive. Doris Ettlinger's wonderful illustrations capture the emotional depth of each scene - I particularly liked the scene in which Prudy Winfield is leaning over to whisper malicious comments in Delly's ear - and are the perfect complement to the narrative. Highly recommended to anyone looking for children's stories dealing with poverty, bullying, and the role of art in a child's life. ( )

this book is very enjoyable to me. The personality of the girl in the book shines through very much. It is easy to relate to her, because most everybody has felt like they have to have something to live up to others expectations. ( )

Delly Porter enjoys the feel of soft dirt beneath her feet as she walks to and from school. But after a classmate makes her feel ashamed of having no shoes, she learns that her parents and others see value in things that do not cost money.