NATIONAL BEDTIME STORY WRITE-OFF : DR. SEUSS AND THE FOOT BOOK

The The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss was first published in 1968. It is distributed through Random House Publications as part of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners.

This review is based on the hardback version. The book is approximately 6 1/4" by 9 inches in height and has 27 colorful pages. The recommended reading age for The Foot Book is four years and up.

As a child, I think my favorite bedtime stories were the ones told by Dr. Seuss. His books have always been so colorful and filled with creative rhymes that only Seuss put to paper. As an adult, I have nearly every Seuss book ever written and share these delightful stories with my nephews whenever possible.

The Story

Seuss really has a foot up on things with this story. The story is based on some simple lessons in feet. Not just your feet but every type of foot you might ever encounter.

Feet in the morning
Feet at night
Left foot
Left foot
Left foot
Right

The lessons in this book are taught through Dr. Seuss's wildly colorful characters and their actions. The rhymes are so simple that soon your child will be repeating them right along with you.

Each page shows different different characters and the amazing things they can do with their own feet. These are no ordinary feet.

Slow feet
Quick feet
Trick feet
Sick feet

Although these rhymes aren't as impressive just read aloud without the accompanying illustrations, they are wonderful rhymes that your children will adore and ones you will find yourself repeating over and over in your own head.

The Illustrations

The illustrations are classic Seuss, with a variety of characters that are colorful, comical, and appealing to the young reader.

The rhyming action along with the brilliant illustrations are excellent tools for teaching your children about counting, the difference between left and right, various colors, and basic reading skills.

An example of one of the lessons taught in this book through illustrations is a spread showing a small house with various Seuss characters walking along the street that runs in front. There are big feet, little feet, spotted feet, blue feet, and even webbed feet. The young reader will delight in trying to count as many feet as he can and don't forget the big striped feet peeking out of the house.

In the house,
and on the street,
how many, many
feet you meet.

With this illustration and rhyme, they can do some simple addition to determine exactly how many feet there are, how many different colors, and even how many different sizes there are.

Overall Thoughts

I think part of my attraction to the works of Seuss is because each of his books brings back memories of my own childhood and how my grandparents would read them to me on my weekend visits. My grandfather knew Seuss was my favorite so every chance he got, he would make up his own simple rhymes. Although they rarely made any sense, I always giggled in delight. He would make up rhymes about anything and I do mean anything. I can recall one of his ridiculously silly rhymes that he made up while I was helping him in the garden.

I know a little song
It ain't very long,
Tulip, Tulip
Now it's all gone

Even though my grandfather passed away when I was only ten years old, I can still remember that day when he handed me a single Tulip and quoted that simplistic rhyme to me. So perhaps that is part of my fascination with the Seuss books. Whatever the reason, Dr. Seuss has captured the hearts of millions of children the world over with his colorful illustrations and charming verses.

Regardless of my own reasons for liking the Seuss books, you can be sure that your own children will enjoy them too. These are books that you will be able to share with your children and your grandchildren because Seuss is timeless.

For bedtime or any time, this is an excellent selection for children of all ages.

Seussisms

Dr. Seuss was born Theodore Geisel in 1904.

Seuss was actually his middle name. He used the name Dr. Seuss when writing children's books so that he could use Theodore Geisel for more literature written for adults.

His first job after college was designing ads for Flit, an insecticide company.

To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street was his first book and was published in 1937.

Seuss was the author and illustrator of 44 books.

He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984.

Seuss died in 1991.

Resources

http://www.eseuss.com
Some of the Seussisms were from the source listed above. This site is full of activities, quotes, information, facts, and more about the life of Seuss and his work.

http://www.randomhouse.com/seussville/
The Official Seuss Site from Random House

Write-Off Information

The idea for this write-off was in response to the First Annual National Bedtime Story Month sponsored by the National Center for Family Literacy and Snuggle Products. For more information on this event, please visit
http://www.famlit.org/momentum/momentum.html#snuggle and also the Snuggle site at http://www.snuggletime.com

This review is a submission for the National Bedtime Story Write-off sponsored by myself and Angelabar. Please take a moment to visit the reviews of other participants including
Angela9049, Angelabar, Bpotter1, Caines, Cbgresh, Chrisceb, CJsmommy, ColleenMF, CyndiCM, Dandj, DarkMistress, Daxman, Debbie26, Dr_Steph, Ed_grover, Gina Hill, Gracef, Hawgwyld, Hhassell99, Jankp, Jenninca, Jo.com, Jodycw, KateTPZ, KCC8988, KCFemme, KMINER, Lisa_J, Lisalexx, Magenta321, Melkinwa, Merlot, Mimi369, Mom2Daniel, Mom2TyZick, NWinston, Phineaskc, Prepoia, ProEditor, Quasar, Redlass, Robinmichele, Rosieroon, Saxguy, Sherrylee, Staceys1, Tchoate, Wardukeky, Willetfk