‘The Red Shoe’ by Ursula Dubosarsky

The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky tells the story of Matilda and her sisters who grew up in the 1950s at the time of the Petrov Affair during the Cold War. Punctuated by the headlines of the time, it shows with unsettling clarity how the large events of the world can impinge on ordinary lives.

The author this ability to perceive where and how she wants her readers to be positioned and set up. As well as have an idea of how and what the text is ‘manipulating’ readers to see, to think and to feel in a particular way to allow the reader to be engaged to the story which links in well with critical literacy. The structure of the novel is a straight chronological structure, which is the first few chapters sets the scene, the next few chapters introduces the characters, the problem they encounter and the last few chapters leads to a solution. Students will be able to recognise the narrative structure of the novel. And also identify the different types of texts that is incorporated within the books such as quotes, poems, hymns, etc.