Remember the scene in You've Got Mail when Kathleen, about to close her little bookstore, tearfully tells a customer at Fox Books about the author of "the shoe books"? (Oh, you haven't seen that movie 178 times?)
Noel Streatfeild. Noel Streatfeild wrote Ballet Shoes and Skating Shoes and Theater Shoes and Movie Shoes...I'd start with Skating Shoes, it's my favorite, although Ballet Shoes is completely wonderful.
Noel Streatfield understood that shoes mark milestones in children's lives. Alisha K. Ard understands this too. She paints custom portraits of your children's shoes. Which shoes are special to you? The first shoes your child walked in? The sneakers your son first learned to tie? Your daughter's ballet shoes?
Alisha prefers to work from the actual shoes, but she can also work from a photograph. Think of it as a modern twist on shoe bronzing. 
My 5 year old daughter actually has cried when she realizes she has outgrown a beloved and well worn pair. I tell her we will give them to goodwill and they can find someone smaller to love her shoes. Though I have handed down pretty much all of her old clothes and toys, I have kept 2 small pairs of baby shoes.
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