Five Little Friends: A Collection of Finger Rhymes

by Sean Taylor, Fiona Woodcock (Illustrator)

Overview

Playful, interactive, and full of whimsy, Sean Taylor’s collection of poems invites little ones to get their fingers, hands, and wiggles ready.

One little friend
in the playground . . . sliding.
Two little friends
playing chase and . . . hiding.

What better way to get little ones excited about poems than to make them part of the delivery? In the hallowed tradition of nursery rhymes and songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” this imaginative collection entices children to use their fingers, hands, and sometimes whole bodies to bring a variety of verses to life. Whether the subject is sailing ships or stomping dinosaurs, falling snow or popping bubbles, jumping onto waterslides or riding a crowded elevator, Sean Taylor’s rhythmic read-aloud verses pair with Fiona Woodcock’s fresh, colorful illustrations, offering clues to the finger actions kids can follow—unless they’re happily acting things out already, using shapes and movements all their own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536249255
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	08/19/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Sean Taylor has written many books for young children, including Hoot Owl: Master of Disguise, illustrated by Jean Jullien; The World Champion of Staying Awake, illustrated by Jimmy Liao; A Brave Bear, illustrated by Emily Hughes; and The Dream Train: Poems for Bedtime, illustrated by Anuska Allepuz. He divides his time between the UK and Brazil.

Fiona Woodcock graduated from the Glasgow School of Art and started her career working in animation. Now specializing in children’s books, she is the creator of Hiding Heidi and the illustrator of A Dot in the Snow by Corrinne Averiss, both of which were nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Fiona Woodcock lives in Scotland.

ABOUT ME
I grew up in the south of England and went to school in London. I went travelling from my early teens and, when I left school, made a journey to Zimbabwe. I spent nearly a year there, teaching in a rural secondary school. Then I went to Cambridge University and studied English Literature for three years. After that I lived in London and zigzagged through different jobs including work at a publisher, writing for newspapers, teaching adults to read and write, and being the Literature Development Worker for East London. In the early 1990’s I met my wife, who is from Brazil. We have two sons and spend our lives partly in the UK and partly in Brazil. Writing is a good job for someone who loves moving around. (Or maybe moving around is a good lifestyle for someone who loves writing!)

ABOUT MY WORK
Most of my earliest work was poetry for adults. This took me into schools to run poetry workshops. I enjoyed doing that so much that I began to write for (and about) the children I was teaching. I have now written over 40 books for young readers. These include picture books such as The World Champion of Staying Awake, BOING!, the multiple-award-winning When a Monster is Born and Crocodiles are the Best Animals of All (which was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize.) For 8-10 year olds I have written the comic Purple Class books (also shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize) and a collection of folktales from the Amazon called The Great Snake. And in 2012 I published A Waste of Good Paper, a novel for teenagers.

THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME
I listen to music when I write. Usually music that is good to dance to.
Because of my connections with Brazil, I spend some of the time thinking in Portuguese.
Once, during carnival in Brazil, I dressed up as Robin Hood and fired arrows with poems on into the crowd. I have also dressed up as John Lennon, a punk, a businessman in a pinstriped suit, a caveman and a crocodile…

Editorial Reviews

This inspired offering will ensure hours of enlightening fun. . . . A fresh, wonderfully creative, and visually engaging array of rhymes to get kids moving.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Sprightly rhymes encourage interactive finger play in this stylishly illustrated poetry collection. . . .It’s a singsong volume that gets bodies moving and pages turning.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The artwork is beautifully illustrated with softened bright colors and clear depictions. . . . With so many poems to choose from, this could make an excellent book to read from cover to cover, or to pick favorite words and movements to act out in music or physical education classes.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 2025-05-16
Taylor and Woodcock’s collection of 35 short rhymes invites children to use their fingers, arms, and even their whole bodies to bring the verses—and their imaginations—to life.

The entries range in subject matter from the mundane to the fanciful. Many deal with everyday activities such as teeth brushing, shoelace tying, and cake baking, contrasting with those concerned with more dramatic experiences, including sliding down a water slide and viewing fireworks. Rhymes about sailing on a ship and climbing a tree harness young imaginations, while “On My Phone” wryly encourages children to mimic the harried adults in their lives. Taylor’s poems are quickly paced and driven by action (“Stomp like an elephant. / Step like a cat. / Fly like an eagle. / Flitter like a bat”), while Woodcock’s illustrations employ crayoned linework and painted and spattered color to portray busy children with varied skin tones, hair textures, and abilities. She cleverly incorporates visual cues into her compositions to suggest actions for the rhymes. In “Snake,” a child’s undulating arm is encased in a diamond-patterned sleeve, with googly eyes and a forked tongue added just for fun. In “Snow,” kids’ white-frosted hands stretch like tree branches and join together to mimic pointed roofs. Fingerplays have long been used by children’s librarians, teachers, and caregivers to encourage kinesthetic learning and help with transitions during school days and storytimes; this inspired offering will ensure hours of enlightening fun.

A fresh, wonderfully creative, and visually engaging array of rhymes to get kids moving.(Picture book/poetry. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews