The Foot Book, a Book of Opposites

Dr. Seuss has been loved by kids of all ages for generations. I practiced my reading skills on his books when I was first learning, read them to my daughter in utero, and (since his books are so timeless) taught my daughter to read with them when she first began learning to read. They are such silly fun and done in such a sing song rhyming way that my daughter adored them when she was 3 and 4. I've always preferred books like Wocket in My Pocket, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, and the like, but this book is one my daughter read so much she soon had the words memorized.



Depending on the edition you grab up, The Foot Book  has around 30 pages and each are covered in lively illustrations that go along with the rhymes. It was first published in 1968. The story is done in classic Dr. Seuss rhyming style and the whole of the book is about feet.



The underlying lessons in the book teach about opposites as well as direction. There are instances where it helps the youngest of children distinguish between colors as well as help with counting.



Some examples:



His feet
Her feet
Fuzzy fur feet



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



Two feet
four feet
Twenty four feet
Here come more
and more
and more feet!



One of the greatest things this book has helped me with was it's use as an aide to help my daughter learn her "right" from "left" when she was a toddler. I would read each of the words (as in example two above, in the rhymes) and then use my own feet to illustrate which foot was which. She in turn would play along, and from there we made other games using our arms. But, this book helped make it fun (which in turn helped her learn easier) and for that it's been invaluable.



The rhymes are really simple and short so it fairly easy for the youngest of readers to make their way through the book themselves. My daughter would stop in places to count the feet she saw or to point out the pictures she thought were especially funny. I think it is best read that way though, especially if reading to a child because otherwise it is easy to fly right through the book.



The illustrations are typical Dr. Seuss and have the same style as every other Seuss book out there. I think this is nice because is stays classic, familiar, and they are so comical that they would be missed otherwise. Each page is so colorful, and each picture follows a certain rhyme in the story. for example, with the words "Sick Feet", we'll see a picture of a Seuss creature in bed as if he's sick. Or, with "Fuzzy fur Feet", we see just that....feet that are fuzzy with fur, perhaps from a Suessville bear. They really help the story along and keep it from seeming quite as repetitive as it would if one were reading it from a worksheet or something similar (with no pictures).



Dr. Seuss's books are simple and silly enough to appeal to young children, but this is one that is disguised as a teaching tool and so I think it borders on genius. I imagine quite a few kids don't even realize they are learning as they belt out these rhymes. I would recommend it to anyone with toddlers or kids that are beginning to learn to read. It's simple enough it probably wouldn't frustrate them, and the zany characters are sure to draw them in.



Left foot
Right Foot
Feet Feet Feet
Oh how many feet you meet!