1. Alphabet
2. Art techniques
3. Biography
4. Book design
5. Daughters
6. Disability
7. Endpapers
8. Figurative language
9. Historical fiction
10. History
11. Illness
12. Photo-realism
13. Reliance
14. Rural life
15. Schools
16. Senses
17. Teachers
18. Visual literacy

This is the story of Alice Betteridge. Alice was born in Sawyers Gully, New South Wales in 1901. She had a happy childhood until she contracted an illness that resulted in the loss of her sight and hearing. When Alice was seven, she went to a school where she learnt to finger sign and then learnt braille. The title refers to her love of being barefoot and that, ‘shoe’ was the first word she fingerspelled.

The language in the text leads us on a sensuous ride – the taste of warm milk, polished floorboards, cool and sometimes damp tiles, and the warm stone step of the veranda. This not only gives us a sensual story, but it highlights the senses that Alice has.

The illustrations by Jennifer Harrison complement the narrative. They are extremely realistic, almost a photographic quality, and give us a sense of life in the early 1900’s in country New South Wales. The exuberance of Alice’s brothers is contrasted to Alice when she is sick with fever. The joy that is captured in the illustration of a young Alice enjoying a bath is captivating. The choice of thick sepia-coloured pages gives a feel of age to the book as do the use of historical photographic style illustrations on the endpapers.

Alice Betteridge has been described as Australia’s Helen Keller due to her disabilities, but also because of her resilience and determination to learn and achieve. This book tells her story in both words and illustrations. The book concludes with both the deafblind alphabet and the braille alphabet for those who want to learn more about the world of Alice Betteridge.

1. Teachers’ notes for the book by MidnightSun publishing 16 May 2023 https://midnightsunpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Teacher-Notes.Alices-Shoe.16-May-2023.pdf
2. Reading Time14 September 2023. Jennifer Mors reviews ‘Alice’s Shoe’ by Julie Thorndyke and Jennifer Harrison https://readingtime.com.au/alices-shoe/
3. ReadPlus 19 October 2023. Fran Knight reviews ‘Alice’s Shoe’ by Julie Thorndyke and Jennifer Harrison https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/alices-shoe-2
4. Good Reading Magazine August 2023. Jane Stephens reviews ‘Alice’s Shoe’ https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/latest-reviews/alices-shoe-by-julie-thornsyke/
5. Next Sense 27 June 2014 ‘Alice Betterbridge was our first deafblind student. She was an unstoppable force. https://www.nextsense.org.au/news-and-stories/alice-betteridge-was-our-first-deafblind-student-she-was-also-an-unstoppable-force
6. The Sunday Sun 11 April 1948. ‘Australia had its own Helen Keller’ https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK04-B249-F01-051