PreS-Gr 2-Sam's day includes exploring his home, shopping for new shoes, eating lunch out, riding the bus home, and taking a nap. His alter ego, Secret Agent Man (S.A.M.), however, is digging for treasure, monitoring a suspicious salesman, and having a side of snakes with his burger. The text and pictures alternate between depicting a spy thriller and a child's actual existence. The digital illustrations have the look of block prints. Textures, shading, and contrasting colors are used to differentiate between the real and the imagined. When Sam is in S.A.M. mode, he wears black clothing and a gadget belt. Those pages look nocturnal, full of shadowy black, blue, and brown tones. Regular life looks like daytime, and Sam is dressed as a kid. Kay (K.) is Sam's mom/partner. When they both decide to get shoes with tiger stripes, K. shows a Secret Agent side as well. The realistic and the imaginary realms merge at climactic points, with the illustrations appearing either split screen-style or with a frightened Sam shown as a child against the dark S.A.M. background. VERDICT Children will enjoy sharing Sam's clever, creative adventure. A terrific read-aloud with bold, dynamic art.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Secret Agent Man (S.A.M.) seems like an ordinary boy, but he leads a life of derring-do. Though he appears to be sitting in the grass while his side kick, K (his mom), hangs laundry, he's really digging for the Lost City of Raisins. When S.A.M. goes with K to buy shoes, he's hip to Shoe Store Man's game and watches closely for anything fishy when he ties S.A.M.'s laces: One bow, two bows. Over, under, and pull them tight. As S.A.M. moves between reality and superspy fantasy, the colorful, blocky illustrations seamlessly transition from ordinary life depicted in sky blues and grass greens to the imaginative scenes in distinctly noirlike black-and-blue tones. The snappy language and playful atmosphere are very entertaining, especially when K plays along with S.A.M.'s game and when S.A.M.'s new tiger-striped shoes help him come to the rescue when K disappears after a boom of thunder (she's outside collecting the laundry before a rainstorm). This spirited story captures the enthusiasm of make-believe games, not to mention the appeal of brand-new sneakers.--McDermott, Jeanne Copyright 2016 Booklist

A spy-obsessed boy must shop for shoes (tiger tennies!), and a newfound ability to tie them completes his mission.Secret Agent Man has a big imagination. In his mind's eye, raisins become jewels, fries are snakes, and everyone except K., his adult sidekick, is suspect. Together they canvas the sneaker store to find the right pair. The day is fraught with darkness and danger, but new tiger kicks help him roar to the rescue. Digital illustrations, done in a silkscreen aesthetic, bring the text to life. To convey the boy's thoughts, Won fills the spreads with atmospheric blues, creating an air of mystery and suspense. Their retro styling echoes pre-Cold War minimalist propaganda artworkperfect for a spy. He cleverly juxtaposes this with S.A.M.'s reality, done in bright, white backgrounds and cheerful colors. Text and art find their comedic stride when S.A.M. looks for K. in the Holding Cell of Despair (the toilet) and the Rocket Silo (broom closet). However, some readers may lose heart when they see how easily S.A.M. learns to tie shoesapparently without practice! S.A.M. has brown hair, dark eyes, and pink skin, while K., also pink-skinned, has lighter-brown hair and blue eyes.Energetic compositions and appealing artwork bolster this spy-friendly text. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The title sounds promising-what kid wouldn't want to turn shoe shopping into something more daring? But most of Wynne-Jones's story happens after the hero, code name S.A.M., and his mother, code name K. ("Short for Kay"), buy matching tiger-striped sneakers. Their day together includes lunch out (S.A.M. orders "a double buffalo burger with a side of snakes and an electron float"), thwarting the attempted theft of "the Plans for World Domination" (by a baby in a stroller), and a rescue of the family laundry from the clothesline before a rainstorm. Wynne-Jones (the Zoom trilogy) creates some lovely, offhanded rapport between mother and son ("We are matching tigers," says S.A.M. "Roar," says K.), but the incidents pile up without really hanging together. The book ends up being a portfolio of themed drawings by Won (Hooray for Hat!), who is in terrific form. His digital images, which combine the look of 1960s animation with a variety of compositional styles, handily capture both everyday sights (a shoe salesman carrying an improbable number of shoeboxes) and the drenched-in-shadows menace of imagined international intrigue. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.