Busy Feet

by Marcia Berneger, Susanna Chapman (Illustrator)

Overview

"Berneger’s rhyming text makes for a fun, buoyant read-aloud...a perfect fit for toddler and preschool readers. Chapman’s illustrations capture joyful, childlike movement. There are bright, eye-catching colors on every page...A bouncy, exuberant read as playful as its target audience." —Kirkus Reviews

Get little feet moving and grooving in no time with this interactive and engaging picture book – perfect for active read-alouds and exploring motion and movement with energetic toddlers.

From former elementary school teacher Marcia Berneger, Busy Feet’s simple, gentle rhyme underscores illustrator Susanna Chapman’s bold, expressive style. This winning combination—along with diverse and inclusive art—makes wiggling around and learning opposites a blast. Little ones will be itching to join the party as the characters dance, hop, and march along!

Feet wake up

Time to play.

Happy feet,

Out all day!

Follow along as adorable baby feet move through a busy day. Where do these feet go? How do they get there? What exciting activities will they get up to? See just how busy little feet can be at playtime, bath time, and more!

Playful and bright, this book is perfect for sharing and gifting. Busy Feet promises full-to-bursting fun for little movers of all ages!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951784102
Publisher:	Starry Forest Books
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Series:	Busy Baby
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	267,150
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Author Marcia Berneger frequents nearby California bookstores and libraries like: 

• Sandcastle Tales (Del Mar, CA) 
• Point Loma Library (Point Loma, CA) 

Illustrator Susanna Chapman frequents nearby Tennessee bookstores and libraries like:

• Parnassus Books (Nashville, TN)
• The Bookshop (Nashville, TN)
• Nashville Public Library (Nashville, TN)

Editorial Reviews

05/08/2023

Bold imagery and sprightly three-beat couplets combine for a footloose and fancy-free tribute to all the ways that feet can move. From morning till night, two sets of legs—one pair portrayed with brown skin, the other pale and freckled—go-go-go, encountering sand, scooters, slides, swings, and much more as concept-driven rhymes explore various opposites: “IN the sand,/ OUT toes peek./ Playful feet/ hide and seek.” Employing a limited visual perspective that frequently focuses on feet over entire figures, Chapman’s artwork pops off the page with circus hues. As “Feet swing LOW,/ feet swing HIGH./ Little feet/ touch the sky,” the kids appear to laugh while hanging off an electric-hued tire swing. Later, kids with varied abilities and skin tones move in a crowd and amid multicolored balls. When at last tired legs slip into bed, stars fill the room, emblematic of the magic that’s been a day of “busy feet.” Ages 3–7. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2022-11-29
A day in the life of several active kids as told through their tireless feet.

Little ones are shown climbing and sliding on the playground, visiting the beach, and scrubbing up in the tub, all through images that focus on their active, busy legs, feet, and toes. Berneger’s rhyming text makes for a fun, buoyant read-aloud. There is a reference to a classic nursery rhyme with the phrase “Dizzy feet all fall down!” along with repetitive opposites like in and out and hot and cold, making it a perfect fit for toddler and preschool readers. Chapman’s illustrations capture joyful, childlike movement. One particularly beautiful spread shows two children on a tire swing, gleefully midtwirl. There are bright, eye-catching colors on every page, from bold reds and oranges to pinks and vibrant blues. Polka dots, plaid, and stripes appear on clothing and in the background, adding to the story’s sense of movement. There are two children who anchor the images, one with dark brown skin, the other pale and freckled. The story celebrates movement of all kinds, including through an illustration of a child using a wheelchair who is shown zipping along, ball in lap. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A bouncy, exuberant read as playful as its target audience. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews