This book honors my Daddy, George Foster Thomas. He was an engineer for the Railroad for 20 years. He often got free train tickets. This story is based on a family train trip taken in 1960, from Spokane, Washington to Henderson, Kentucky to visit the Thomas Family. On that trip, I lost my shiny, black patent leather shoe. My Mommy, Shirley Gamet Thomas, really believed a pack rat carried my shoe away! This book imagines that rat was 'Pack Rat Pat.' He wants the shoe for a very important reason: his family. This book is written for children, specifically beginning readers. Its focus is on family. Lucky for me, my Mommy had brought another pair of black patent leather shoes with us on that trip. They had bows on them. I liked them better anyway, so it all worked out well for me and for 'Pack Rat Pat' and his family!