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Summary

Secret Agent Man (S.A.M.) needs new shoes. It’s time for a shopping trip. It will be a dangerous operation. However, with his super-keen skills of observation (to say nothing of a super-sized imagination) and a team of expert spies to help him, S.A.M. has high hopes of success. He and Agent K (his mom) enter the shoe store. The salesman looks shifty. “Frisk him!” S.A.M. says. Now Secret Agent Man must make a crucial decision: will it be vanishing shoes or rocket shoes? In the end S.A.M. chooses tiger-striped sneakers. He watches the shoe salesman closely as he ties the laces. S.A.M. and Agent K reach home after someone tries – unsuccessfully – to steal the Plans for World Domination. “Whew, that was close!” says S.A.M. and heads upstairs for his afternoon nap. Later, after meeting with Secret Agents Teddy Bear, Fluffy Pig and Coyote, S.A.M. looks for Agent K., who appears to be missing! A search in the Rocket Silo (broom closet), Torture Chamber (piano bench) and the Holding Cell of Despair (the toilet) yield no results. Has she been abducted? S.A.M. quickly dons his new shoes, races outside and locates his mom, just in time to help her clear the clothesline before an approaching thunderstorm. Safely back in the house, S.A.M. realizes that his tiger shoes have given him a brand new superpower: he can now tie his own shoelaces! At last! Using a mix of real life and super-spy make-believe, off-beat humor, crisp language and retro-type illustrations, this clever picture book by Tim Wynne-Jones celebrates the power of the imagination. ** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.