A little boy in his wheelchair, paralyzed after an accident where he lost his parents, is in an orphanage where he finds solace in escaping through books. Discovering an advertisement for magical shoes, he decides to acquire them.
Thus, he finds himself at the heart of an adventure between his native Switzerland, France, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Amazon. This book is written as a Christmas tale whose moral is friendship and solidarity—a beautiful piece very relevant to our dehumanized, materialistic, and individualistic world.
Vanessa Sauvage takes us alongside Jules in his adventures by plane, boat, hot air balloon, and canoe. The author introduces us to genuine people with hearts as big as that! Will Jules walk again thanks to these blue shoes found in Cuzco, Peru? That is not the most important thing.
The magical shoes teach us the value of dreams, knowing how to live them to make them come true. Friendship, the solidarity of those who have nothing, is a lesson in humility for unnecessary and fleeting vanities. Jules is an endearing character, a little boy who, despite his disability, wants to live and nothing will stop him.
A book for our time where people are increasingly confined to their space, which itself shrinks a little more each day. Open the doors, said John Paul II; do not be afraid, Jules opened all the doors and was not afraid. Even in the most threatening dangers, he retained this hope, this faith in himself that moves, and he is the proof, mountains.
Thierry Jan
