The Foot Book

All fetishes aside, The Foot Book is a delightful tribute to the diverse and multifaceted world of feet. Not merely a realm of ankles, arches, and toes--as this self-proclaimed "Wacky Book of Opposites" attests--the podiatry province welcomes all kinds: "Slow feet/Quick feet/Well feet/Sick feet." Dr. Seuss has put his best foot forward here, in a whimsical approach to showcasing opposites. Wet feet contrast dry feet, and low feet contrast high feet. Though hot feet and cold feet aren't specifically referenced, we get the sense that those are okay too. As usual, the rhymes are quick and quirky, and Seuss's illustrations will knock kids' socks off. (Under fives)

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A Brilliant Early Reader! - Rated
Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Foot Book was one of her picks.

Dr. Seuss understood the elements of a successful early reader: Lots of repetition, visual adjectives, and hilarious drawings to tie it all together and keep the child racing forward. The Foot Book is perhaps his most successful basic reader.

But what makes this book even more remarkable is that it teaches basic concepts as well such as left versus right (that most chidren are sorting out at this age), high and low, front and back, and counting.

I was further impressed by the obvious encouragement for children to notice feet, and become better observers. You can follow up in this way with your child by asking her or him what was noticed that day about feet.

Please note that this book is quite different from the board book that came out with a similar title in 1996. Avoid that one, and use this one instead.

Have a ball with feet!

A Brilliant Early Reader! - Rated
Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Foot Book was one of her picks.

Dr. Seuss understood the elements of a successful early reader: Lots of repetition, visual adjectives, and hilarious drawings to tie it all together and keep the child racing forward. The Foot Book is perhaps his most successful basic reader.

But what makes this book even more remarkable is that it teaches basic concepts as well such as left versus right (that most chidren are sorting out at this age), high and low, front and back, and counting.

I was further impressed by the obvious encouragement for children to notice feet, and become better observers. You can follow up in this way with your child by asking her or him what was noticed that day about feet.

Please note that this book is quite different from the board book that came out with a similar title in 1996. Avoid that one, and use this one instead.

Have a ball with feet!

so simple and yet.... - Rated
One of the shorter Seuss books, but just enchanting (and that's not a word I often use!). Simple, but who else would have thought of writing a book just about "how many many feet you meet"? It's all short rhymes, easy words (his feet, her feet, fuzzy fur feet). I read it already to my 5 month old daughter, and she loves the pictures and the rythm of it all.

How many many feet you eat - Rated
Reading is fundamental-but it all starts with chewing. My son loves to chew on this book. We own the board book edition. Board books are excellent for chewing; or at least my son thinks so. In contrast my daughter and I read this book together. We also love this book; but be warned ... we come to the task without using our sense of taste. Yet it is a tasteful book. Dr. Seuss was indeed a great writer. And that bears itself out in this wonderful book. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that after thirty-two years of his first publishing The Foot Book, Dr. Seuss has my son eating his feet.

Great book with great rythm - Rated
I bought this book for my 10 month old son and he loves it. We read it to him three or four times a day and he still gets excited every time we get it out. Its best read in one go and quite quickly, that way it sounds like a great poem. He likes to 'read' it himself now just looking at the pictures. I can recite the whole thing now without looking at the book