The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites (Bright & Early Board Book)

Rating:
Summary: Great first listening book....
Review: "The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites" is a board book adapted from the original Bright and Early Book for Beginning Readers, a series of books for the youngest of the young. The idea here is that the stories are brief and funny, the words are few and easy, and there is always a catchy sense of rhyme. Of course "The Foot Book" is about not only the foot (singular) but feet (plural). There are more references to feet (plural) than to feet (singular), if you happen to pay attention to such things (which, apparently, I did). But the key part of this book are all the adjectives that Dr. Seuss comes up with for all those feet.

This happens mostly in terms of oppositional pairs such as right and left, wet and dry, high and low, front and back, etc. Of course sometimes rhyme comes into play as well, such as when we go from small feet to big feet and then to pig feet. The illustrations all feature the strange hairy creatures that populate the imagination of Dr. Seuss, although you will see a pair of rather normal looking kids in the mix as well. Did you ever stop to think that Dr. Seuss is probably the most influential poet of his generation? He is certainly the most imitated, and behind all those silly rhymes was a deep desire to get kids to read. Once your beginning reader has read "The Foot Book," be sure to have them check out the sequel, "Fox in Sox."

Rating:
Summary: Sure to Please
Review: A typical Dr. Suess book: Some wacky illustrations that are really fun, great rhyming and rythm, easy to read, and fun.

I enjoy reading this book with my almost three year old and my 15 month old. They enjoy the rythm of the words. The words and the text match which makes reading this book that much more enjoyable. The exaggerations are funny and makes my three year old laugh.

We read this book and then think of the things we can do with our feet- walk, hop etc. and act them out.

Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Fun for toddlers
Review: Fun, rhyming book with lots of silly illustrations. I love reading this one to my younger children, particularly when they are 1 - 4 years old.

Feet in all sorts of shapes and sizes, on all sorts of bizarre and fun creatures. My kids love this!

Rating:
Summary: Great first listening book....
Review: I didn't know what to expect when I purchased this book. I should have known, having grown up with Dr. Seuss myself.
This book kept my daughter's attention on more than one occassion and as she got older she was able to read the book herself.
Just the words themselves: Left foot, left foot, right foot right.... are enough to keep any child happy.
My daughter, who is now a teenager, still puts this book at the top of her list of all time favorites. She loves to purchase this book for the little children that she baby sits, so that they can enjoy the book as much as she had.

Rating:
Summary: The Foot Book
Review: I first saw this book at my son's pediatrician's office. What a relief it was to read this book and play with his feet, while my then 4 mon old son was getting his shots. He was so excited and amazed with the words and expressions of the book that he forgot about his multiple shots. Reading this book took away some of the fight he usually puts up and he didn't care much about the sting of the needle during this visit. Now at 11 mons, he is still fasinated by the words nd pictures in the book! I take it everywhere we go mainly Dr appts just in case. Great reading! Great fun. What a relief!

Rating:
Summary: disapointed
Review: I was so disapointed in this book! My son (at age 2) loved this book in the original form we had; but he was a bit rough on it & I had to tape our copy a few times! So I searched everywhere for a board book version, and was so happy when I found one. I bought it without reading it first (which I almost never do) and was so disapointed in the quality! The pictures are poorly drawn (I think some of them may even be drawn by someone other than Dr. Seuss? maybe the original drawings could not be reprinted or something) and the rhymes were changed. They are awkward and I can't see why they needed to be changed in the first place! For example, changing "Feet in the morning...Feet at night" to "Feet in the day...Feet in the night". This is poor english, and what was wrong with it the way Dr. Seuss wrote it? Twice, they changed "Feet, feet, feet...how many, many feet you meet" to "how many different feet you meet". Again, why? It just sounds better the other way. And finally, why change "slow feet..quick feet...trick feet...sick feet" to "well feet"? It doesn't even make sense- what are Well Feet? The picture is a dog juggling balls- doing a "trick"! I am surprised that the Seuss trustees, who are usually so protective of Dr. Seuss' work would OK this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Foot Book
Review: The Foot Book, is a great book for little children. This book teaches begining readers easy words to read, and opposites. By the time you finish this book you will be able to tell your right foot from your left foot, morning from night, small from big, up from down, high from low, dry from wet, and slow from quick. Kids will read this book over and over again, because its a fun read, it rhymes, and its so easy that kids can read it themselves with out any help. I recommend The Foot Book to anyone who is just begining and wants an easy and fun book to read.

Rating:
Summary: The Foot Book
Review: This book appeals to children of all ages and my mom even loved it.
It is a good book for beginning readers to read on their own because of the rhyming.
It is a silly and funny book all about feet, what they can do and different feet.
This is just a fun book to make you smile and laugh.

Rating:
Summary: Opposites Attract!
Review: Welcome to the wonderful world of whimsical, wacky writing, and crazy, colorful caricatures. Geeezz, that's hard to read aloud. "The Foot Book, Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites" is an inspired introduction to contrary concepts, such as left verses right, and just plain silliness through rhyme. Wet/dry, high/low, front/back, and well/sick... you get the gist. William LOVED this book when he was a baby. He especially liked the pig page.

"Up feet, down feet, here come clown feet.

Small feet, big feet, here come pig feet."

It's a quick read. It takes less than a minute to complete, although, we'd sit for 5-minutes or more just talking about the illustrations. If you've ever read an original Seuss, then you know what I mean when I say they are whimsical, and colorful. Of course, I am partial to Seuss's illustrated works, rather than the books he wrote and others illustrated for him, such as "The Eye Book". His caricatures are silly, almost fantasy like. He doesn't use a lot of color on each page; however, the overall effect is upbeat, and always entertaining.

"The Foot Book, Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites" is NOT a miniature version of Seuss's, "The Foot Book". The text, and images have been adapted from the original to accommodate board book standards. Yet, the phrasing and prose flow, as is apparent from the above excerpt.

There has been a great deal of controversy regarding these little books. It seems, others think the publisher, has infringed upon the copyright laws. When these "Bright and Early BOARD Books" were released in 2001, the titles, and the covers were the same as the originals. Some were confused, and even angered. Apparently, they thought they were buying smaller, yet full-text copies of the originals. It clearly states they are adapted formats on the back of the cover, so I don't understand what the fuss is all about. Random House has since altered the titles, and covers to indicate the modifications. For instance, "The Foot Book" has a white cover, while "The Foot Book, Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites" has a green background even though the image is the same.

I, for one, was thrilled to have the opportunity to offer my infant son a CLASSIC Seuss narrative, even in it's ADAPTED form. These magical miniatures are delightfully entertaining for little babies. Especially for those who enjoy the positive interaction of cooperative play through reading. The objective of these small books is to appeal to newborns, and very young children who are not attentive enough for the full-text versions. They are NOT meant to replace the originals. Moreover, these pocketsize gems are fashioned for effortless travel to the market, on a plane, in the car, or on a train. Hee, hee... that's my own Seuss inspired rhyme. Birth and up.

Happy Reading,
Mary