Whose Shoe?

Shoes are ever-present in preschoolers' low-to-the-ground landscape. Veteran photo-illustrator Miller ( Whose Hat? ) focuses on feet and uses shoes as a fun and captivating vehicle for learning. The book's effectiveness lies in its simplicity: a series of nine spreads of four pages each reveals the object identifications and concepts. ``Whose shoe?'' begins each sequence; in the first, the words face a photo of a black-and-white baseball shoe. The overleaf reveals a full-page photo of a player in the batter's box opposite a page containing the words ``baseball player'' and a preschool boy in a Mets outfit trying to swing a bat. A female clown, a baby, a male ballet dancer, a horse, a hockey player, a swimmer and a runner--each with distinctive footgear--round out the cast. Miller's crystalline pictures feature a multicultural, nonsexist mix--all of whom are having a grand time in this photographic feat. Ages 2-up. (Oct.)