By Eric Litwin, James Dean
A cat in brand-new white shoes steps in everything, and doesn't mind one bit.
Pete loves his white shoes so much he sings a song about them while he walks. Then he steps in a big pile of strawberries and his shoes turn red. Did Pete cry? Goodness, no. He just sings about his red shoes instead. Then blueberries, and blue shoes. Then mud, and brown shoes. Then a bucket of water, which washes them white again, except now they're soaking wet. Pete keeps walking and keeps singing, all the way through. There's a tune that goes with it, and once your child has it, you will have it too, for months.
This is the loudest, most participatory book on the shelf, and a cat-mad two-year-old will lose their mind for it. The pattern is dead simple, so after one round your child knows that "Did Pete cry?" is their line, and they will bellow "GOODNESS, NO!" every time. It teaches colors without ever once feeling like it's teaching colors. And Pete himself is the point: he is completely unbothered, and the book says so out loud at the end. If your child is the sort who falls apart when something gets ruined, a blue cat shrugging off his wrecked shoes is a surprisingly useful thing to have in the house. There's a free song online that the author sings, and it's worth putting on.