''The Shoe Bird'' is a 1964 children's novel by Southern writer

Eudora Welty Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel ''The Optimist's Daughter'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numero ...

. The novel tells the story of a parrot in a shoe store, as he talks to other birds about shoes. Welty, who had never written any children's literature before, wrote it to satisfy a contractual obligation with her publisher

Harcourt Brace Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...

and to pay for a new roof on her house. An orchestral ballet was composed by

Lehman Engel A. Lehman Engel (born September 14, 1910, Jackson, Mississippi - died August 29, 1982, New York City) was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film. Work in theatre, television and films Engel worked in a variety ...

and performed by the Jackson Ballet Guild in 1968. A 2002 choral piece was also commissioned by the Mississippi Boy Choir and composed by composer Samuel Jones.

Reception

Reception of the novel was mixed, with critic Nancy Hardgrove calling most reviews in major publications "cordial but restrained". However, reception amongst children's literature commentators was largely negative. Kirkus Reviews described the novel as uneventful: "Practically no action occurs during the lengthy discussion, which consists almost entirely of a stream of witticisms, many of which are irrelevant." The review concludes wryly "the overly wordy result is so obscure that readers are likely to want to leave dictionaries as well as shoes to the birds."

References

1964 American novels 1964 children's books American children's novels Children's books about parrots Fictional parrots Novels adapted into ballets Novels by Eudora Welty Southern United States literature Children's novels about animals {{1960s-child-novel-stub