Lizbeth Lou Got a Rock in Her Shoe

The sepia-toned silhouettes convey remarkable depth of field, as in one double-page spread in which an ant pushes the boulder-sized pebble across a meadow, the field grasses in the foreground blurred while the ant and pebble in the rear of the image stand out crisply. -- Kirkus Review
"An ending that brings the rock full circle may leave readers considering the unknowable effects of small, spontaneous actions." Publishers Weekly
" Lizbeth Lou Got a Rock in Her Shoe is loosely based on the revolutionary notion that what goes around comes around. This message is subtly reinforced by the creative cut paper silhouette scenes in serene sepia shades." Midwest Book Review
"Gorgeous in its simplicity and unique visual style, this provides a welcome respite from the busy modern world." Booklist
Howell ( The Dragon of Cripple Creek ) and newcomer Carr trace the elaborate journey of a rock after it gets stuck in a girl's shoe: "'Ow!' Lizzy said. 'This just will not do!'/ She flung it, it crashed... in a cricket's canoe." Playful details pop up throughout Howell's rhymes (a trout spits the rock onto a duck's umbrella, and a bird with a spyglass later spots it balanced on a woman's hat pin), but it's Carr's elegant cut-paper dioramas that command attention. Rendered in warm browns and lit by fiery golden light, their whimsy dovetails nicely with Howell's verse, while out-of-focus trees and grasses create a lovely sense of three-dimensionality. Carr's trees feel inspired by the art nouveau movement and, along with characters' formal attire, seem to plant the story in the early 20th century (a wide-angle view of the park reveals an angel fountain and nearby buildings, suggesting New York City's Central Park as a possible setting). An ending that brings the rock full circle may leave readers considering the unknowable effects of small, spontaneous actions. Ages 2-7. Author's agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger. - - Publishers Weekly