Hello Toes, Hello Feet

A spirited poetic celebration of the lower extremities follows a youngster and her dog through their day of fun and shows all the things that feet can do, from skipping and stomping to leading the way down a slide.

PreSchool-Grade 1?A little girl's feet guide her through a lively day in which every activity becomes a playful adventure?swinging, stomping cans, and jumping in puddles and mud. The fun increases as the child's footwear constantly changes, ranging from pink bunny slippers to red cowboy boots to "big lady" party shoes. The text's sharp bouncy rhythm could inspire toe-tapping from young listeners. Colorful cartoon line-and-wash illustrations, featuring plenty of purple and pink, are an ideal match for the energetic rhyme. Together, they celebrate the boundless, often overwhelming vitality of early childhood. Sheer fun, pure and simple.?Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Paul's (The Seasons Sewn: A Year in Patchwork) cheerful and bouncy poem narrates the activities of a spunky heroine who greets the day by announcing, "Good morning, toes,/ Good morning, feet,/ tangled up between my sheets./ Be the first to touch the floor,/ hop me to the closet door." Occasionally, the conceit of having the girl directly address her feet throughout the day seems strained ("Now march me over to the trees..../ I'll slip off your socks and shoes"), and the changing line length of the stanzas sometimes throws off the poem's rhyme scan ("Go outside,/ try to leap/ across the walk,/ skip side to side,/ lead the way/ quick down/ the slide"). Nonetheless, Westcott's (Never Take a Pig to Lunch) bright, shiny faces and effervescent illustrations bubble with verve. Readers will delight in the expressive terrier, reminiscent of Margaret Bloy Graham's Harry the Dirty Dog, and a blue stuffed rabbit who accompany the girl on her escapades. Westcott's watercolors brim with jaunty details: feet clomp, dance, skip and jump; when the girl's feet kick the table, the "Happy O's" in her cereal bowl fly into the waiting mouths of her younger brother and dog; and her closet is neatly lined with treasures?alligator socks, sandals with Carmen Miranda fruit and even Judy Garland's ruby-red shoes. Whether spotlighting cowgirl boots or muddy bare toes, this appealing toddler book is full of neat feet. Ages 2-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A jolly rhyming text follows a preschooler through her day, as she, in turn, follows her feet. With the exuberance of a charmingly extended jump-rope chant, Paul (The Seasons Sewn, 1996, etc.) and Westcott chronicle the happy child's day. After she tells her toes good morning (``Be the first to touch the floor, hop me to the closet door''), she chooses from a technicolor array of fantasy footwear: slingbacks, fruit-adorned sandals, cowboy boots, ice skates, flippers, and bunny slippers. Her little dog helps her, carrying a spare pair in his mouth. Simple and carefree activities are described from a foot's-eye view; her toes lead the way down the slide, her feet crunch a juice box at lunchtime. The text is compelling, the drawings a total confection. It's a sweet, completely realized concept, modest in ambition but in perfect accord with readers' interests and perspectives. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 1^-4. In a playful interactive picture book, a small girl talks to her toes and her feet and celebrates all the things they do all day and all the places they take her. She wakes up and feels them tangled up between the sheets; they are the first to touch the floor and hop her to the closet door. They take her down the stairs to the kitchen and out on the street and squishing into the muddy ooze in the park. Preschoolers will join in all the actions of the partially rhyming story as her feet and toes make her jump, kick, stamp, run, clomp, march, tiptoe, shuffle, run, and skip wherever she goes. Westcott's ink-and-neon-colored illustrations, like those in Never Take a Pig to Lunch (1994), extend the words with exuberant detail. There are all kinds of shoes on the feet--from flip-flops and furry slippers to cowboy boots and high-heeled pumps--and the girl's mischievous dog companion keeps her focused down low, where those toes are walking and things are happening on the ground. Hazel Rochman