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Shoelace Books
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This section presents a selection of shoelace related books, each with my own personal assessment, available
through the trusted on-line bookstore
Amazon.com.
The links take you to Amazon.com, where you can read more about the books, including other people's reviews.
Should you then decide to buy, Amazon.com pays me a tiny commission, so your purchase will be helping support
Ian's Shoelace Site! |
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Early Learning Shoelace Board Books
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These are generally brightly coloured with plenty of pictures, and are of strong board construction to last the
rigours of rough handling by children. They have actual shoelaces laced into them for children to learn basic
shoelace handling, lacing and tying.
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Red Lace, Yellow Lace
(by Mark Casey, Judith Herbst, Jenny Stanley).
This board book has a bottom section laced with an actual two-coloured shoelace and a 24-page spiral-bound top
section containing the instructions. Using rhyming verses and colourful illustrations, this book teaches the
Two Loop Shoelace Knot (also known as the "Bunny Ears" method). It's currently Amazon's
most popular book for teaching children how to tie shoelaces.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $9.56 (USD)
20% Off |
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Tie Your Shoes Rocket Style / Bunny Ears
(by Ikids, Linda Solovic).
This 8-page double-sided board book is laced through both sides with two coloured laces, and contains instructions
for two different shoelace knots. The "Rocket Style" side teaches the
Standard Shoelace Knot (I think!) whilst the "Bunny Ears" side teaches the
Two Loop Shoelace Knot. The diagrams are fairly small, but at least this allows them to fit
on one page so the child won't have to let go of the shoelaces to turn pages.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $9.95 (USD) |
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Tie A Bow, Ben Bunny
(by Mavis Smith).
This board book comes with four colourful laces, and teaches the Two Loop Shoelace Knot
(also known as the "Bunny Ears" method) using simple rhymes and pictures.
Ben Bunny hopped along the street
with brand new sneakers on his feet.
"Nice shoes, Ben!" a little crow cried.
"Too bad your laces are untied!"
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $3.64 (USD) |
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Amazing Lacing
(by Klutz Press).
This board book of ten pages is designed to let kids have fun with several supplied shoelaces. Make a purple sheep,
a loopy caterpillar, spin a web, serve up some spaghetti, design a funny hairstyle, and much more using coloured
shoelaces threaded through holes in the book. Very helpful for developing children's hand-eye coordination and
shoelace handling skills in general, though do note that this book doesn't actually teach how to tie shoelaces.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $9.95 (USD) |
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The Helpful Shoelace
(by Michael Twinn & Tina Freeman).
14 page board book about a shoelace who, having lost its partner to breakage, goes about trying to be helpful. This
finds it laced into all sorts of other items. Very helpful for developing children's hand-eye coordination and
shoelace handling skills in general, though do note that this book doesn't actually teach how to tie shoelaces.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $9.99 (USD) |
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Noddy's Loose Shoelace
(by Gill Davies).
Yet another board book of ten pages with holes through which an actual shoelace is threaded. Kids can interact with
the characters as "the chaos unfolds". Again, very helpful for developing children's hand-eye coordination and
shoelace handling skills in general, though do note that this book doesn't actually teach how to tie shoelaces.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $5.00 (USD)
TIP for Noddy: Read my Slipping Shoelaces? page for help with this problem! |
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Children's Shoelace Books
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These books are once again aimed at early childhood, with plenty of pictures and large writing. Shoelaces are the
common theme, either about the frustrations or joys of learning to tie shoelaces or difficulty with keeping them
tied (to which children readily relate).
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Look! I Can Tie My Shoes!
(by Susan Hood, Amy Wummer).
This 32 page book is a combination of both instructional and story-book. The story revolves around a little girl
who loves all kinds of shoes - except those with shoelaces. So her mother teaches her to tie them. With plenty of
clear, colourful pictures and simple rhymes, the story makes the process of learning a delight.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $3.99 (USD) |
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My Shoelaces Are Hard To Tie
(by Karla Roberson & Vanessa Holley).
32 page story book about a girl trying to learn to tie her shoelaces:
My shoelaces are hard to tie
I have to give it one more try!
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $3.99 (USD) |
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Shoelaces
(by Suzanne Lieurance &
Patrick Girouard).
A child describes the joys of all different kinds of shoelaces. 32 pages with pictures and large writing.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $4.95 (USD) |
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Magic Shoelaces
(by Audrey Wood).
This humorous 32 page story book includes the typical real-world situations that confront a child, complete with
their imaginary explanations. Kids will really relate to the problem of slipping shoelaces. However, the solution
of having them replaced with a "magic" pair that won't come untied soon turns out to have it's own disadvantages.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $7.99 (USD) |
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Buddy Can't Tie Shoes
(by Jo Ann Kathleen).
A cute kids story about Buddy and his playful puppy as they hunt for Buddy's missing shoes and try to recall the
previous day's events. Will they find them, or will they discover something more important? 28 pages, suggested for
9-12 year olds.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $9.95 (USD) |
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Erin and Her Shoe Laces
(by Mark J. Blotcky MD).
An almost identical story to the above book, but probably more suited to girls as the main characters are Erin and
her puppy Ace. Also 28 pages, for 9-12 year olds.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $9.95 (USD) |
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Novels Referring to Shoelaces
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These books are generally for more mature readers, either older children, teenagers or adults. Obviously, there's
none solely devoted to shoelaces, but they at least have something to do with the subject.
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The Mezzanine
(by Nicholson Baker).
In this quirky book, the author breaks a shoelace, then travels to a local chain store to buy a replacement. On the
way up the escalator, he ponders the myriad everyday objects that comprise his working environment with something
in between childlike wonder and scientific curiosity. Why do shoelaces break? Why do they break at almost the same
time? Why do drinking straws float? How do milk cartons differ from milk bottles? What is the correct etiquette in
mens' rooms? Be prepared to be captivated by the minute details of the everyday world in which we work and live.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $9.56 (USD)
20% Off |
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So Yesterday
(by Scott Westerfield).
Trendy shoes and shoelaces play a major part in this 240 page suspense novel, which is why I read and enjoyed the
book despite it being written for young adults. The storyline delves into the culture of those who create fashion
trends, those who follow them, and the corporations that try to profit from them. The two main characters, Hunter
and Jen, are brought together when one spots the other's shoelaces, which are laced into a pattern like the "rising
sun" design on the old Japanese flag. In fact, the first sentence of this book reads: "Can I take a picture of your
shoe?"
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $7.99 (USD) |
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The Neddiad
(by Daniel Manus Pinkwater).
This 200 page children's book is the story of Neddie Wentworthstein, heir to a shoelace empire, who (to quote the
title of the book) "... Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization". That title probably
doesn't do justice to the incredible journey that takes place, or the many twists and turns, all of which have
helped to make this book a current bestseller.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $10.88 (USD)
32% Off |
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Other Shoelace Books
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These are books that are clearly about shoelaces but which I can't easily categorize into one of the above sections.
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Loop, Swoop, and Pull!
(by Joseph P. Anderson).
I don't have any details about this book other than that it has 24 pages and that the suggested reading level is
"Young Adult". I'd love to hear from anyone who knows what this book is about!
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $19.93 (USD) |
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Shoe & Sneaker Culture Books
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Here you'll find books about shoe and sneaker culture, aimed mainly at fashion conscious teenagers and adults and
collectors of trendy footwear.
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Sneakers: The Complete Collector's Guide
(by Unorthodox Styles).
This 256 page encyclopaedic guide contains plenty of material for the most demanding footwear collector. Histories
of the major brands, chronologies, directories of stores and web sites. Oh, and of course, there's sneakers -
hundreds of photos of the most notable sneakers.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $19.77 (USD)
34% Off |
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Sneaker Freaker
(by Simon Wood).
The original Sneaker Freaker Magazine ("Snkr Frkr") is a
twice-yearly mag devoted to the global footwear craze. A funky style, with heaps of great pictures of some really
trendy footwear plus interviews with some of the hottest names in the footwear industry. MTV called it: "The
most definitive sneaker culture mag on the planet". This 320 page book compiles the first six issues of the
magazine, the originals of which have become hot collector's items.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $13.00 (USD)
35% Off |
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Shoelace Technical Books
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These books have a more technical focus, and are aimed at those with a scientific bent.
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The Ashley Book Of Knots
(by Clifford W. Ashley).
Considered by many in knotting circles as the definitive reference of knots from all walks of life, this massive
640 page book includes over 7,000 small but fairly clear drawings of some 3,900 knots. Written over 60 years ago,
it therefore doesn't include some recently invented knots, but nonetheless covers many more knots in many more
categories than any other reference. Nicely rounded out with some good reading and historical background about
knotting as both a necessity and a pastime from this bygone era.
"The Ashley Book Of Knots" shows a number of Shoelace Knots, which is more than I can say
for many other knotting reference books. I can therefore recommend this book most enthusiastically!
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $50.40 (USD)
37% Off |
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The Shoelace Book: A Mathematical Guide to the Best (And Worst) Ways to Lace Your Shoes
(by Burkard Polster).
Burkard Polster is a lecturer in mathematics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. In December 2002, Burkard
generated world-wide interest in the subject of shoelaces when his single-page paper summarising the shortest way,
strongest way, and number of ways of lacing shoes, was published in the respected journal "Nature".
Four years later, Burkard has completed a more comprehensive coverage of the subject, resulting in this 125 page
book. Besides answering the above questions about shoelaces, the mathematics itself becomes interesting because
it's no longer about an abstract concept but about a real-world application to which all of us can relate.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Approximate price: $29.00 (USD) |
The book comes with color-coded laces that match the lacing diagrams, and has an "interactive" front cover that you
can use as a practice shoe! |
Laces: 100s of Ways to Pimp Your Kicks
(by Ian Fieggen).
Last but not least is my own book, "Laces". Like this web site, this book is the world's most comprehensive reference
about shoelaces. Unlike the web site, the book is far more fashionable, filled with trendy looking shoes laced in
amazing patterns.
At a RRP of just $14.95 (USD) (even cheaper on-line), it also makes an affordable, novel gift. And don't let the
modest price fool you; this is a big, sturdy, high quality book!
Go to the Laces (Ian's Book) page to
get a peek inside this book and to find out where it is available.
Go to Amazon.com to read more or to buy this book.
Go to the Buy Ian's Book page to
order a signed copy of "Laces" directly from Ian in Australia.
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If you're an author with a book that's not listed here, or if you can recommend another book for this section,
please contact me.
This page last updated: 08-May-2008. Copyright © 2005-2008 by
Ian W. Fieggen. All rights reserved.
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