Ten Tiny Toes

by Todd Tarpley, Marc Brown (Artist)

Overview

A tender tribute to the life that awaits each new set of ten tiny toes--featuring heart-warming collage illustrations by Marc Brown and including babies of every size, shape, and color!

Into the world came ten tiny toes,
a hundred times sweeter than one could suppose....

There's nothing sweeter in the world than a baby's ten tiny toes. From tiny feet nuzzled and tickled in the crib to bath time, playtime, and those very first big steps, here is a wonderful way to commemorate the unforgettable moments in a young child's life.

Marc Brown's adorable collage illustrations bring Todd Tarpley's rhythmic text to life in this tender read-aloud. It is a joyous celebration of the unbreakable bond of love that guides a child through each exciting milestone and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316230452
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/04/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

Todd Tarpley is the author of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, My Grandma's a Ninja, Ten Tiny Toes, and How About a Kiss for Me? He lives in New York City, and he invites you to visit him online at toddtarpley.com.

Guy Parker-Rees has illustrated numerous books for children, including the bestselling sensation Giraffes Can't Dance. He lives in Brighton, England, and he invites you to visit him online at guyparkerrees.com.

Editorial Reviews

PreS—Baby toes are irresistible, and Tarpley and Brown honor them with finesse. Cut-paper and gouache collages chronicle the tootsies from diaper days and first steps to skipping and jumping. Creative vignettes, like adult fingers creating a heart shape that nestles baby's toes in the middle, showcase Brown's never-ending talent. His pigtailed baby in sunglasses, another feeding peas to the dog, even the belly button self-examiner keep the art playful. Tarpley's rhymes add to the bliss with yummy lines like, "Toes that were little/and tender and tasty,/toes more delicious than cinnamon pastry." The book ends in the future, when the baby has a child, shifting its audience but remaining sweet. "…nothing on earth/you could ever suppose/can ever be loved/quite like ten tiny toes."—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

School Library Journal

It is a truth universally acknowledged that babies have irresistible toes—“a hundred times sweeter/ than one could suppose,” as Tarpley (How About a Kiss for Me?) writes. And according to Brown’s terrific cut-paper, gouache, and colored pencil illustrations, it’s a sentiment that even the family dog can embrace. But toes are more than delicious and cute—they’re an essential player in ensuring that babies literally get a toehold in the world (“They tricked and they treated,/ those tiny toes did./ They pushed and they pedaled,/ they skated, they slid”). As Tarpley’s simple, bright rhymes gently accelerate in momentum along with the progress of their subject matter (“And one day those ten/ tiny toes tried a test./ Five toes took a step/ out ahead of the rest”), Brown (Dancing Feet!) shows babies of every background moving from adorable, giggly reactiveness to calm, clear-eyed independence. The veteran illustrator’s masterful juggling of color and patterning—which could have turned to visual mushiness in less experienced hands—brings a fresh warmth and celebratory energy to even the most familiar childhood scenes. Up to age 3. Agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Young children will be drawn to the many engaging illustrations of different babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in action. A warm tribute to the family love that encourages each set of 10 little toes shown, every step of the way."
—Booklist

From the Publisher

Tarpley pays homage to babies and the miraculous ways in which they inspire love. When they first enter the world, their toes are wriggly and nibbly and kissable. They begin to crawl and take those first steps of exploration. Now they learn to be masters of their world as those toes take them running, hopping, skipping and jumping, not to mention skating and pedaling into all the experiences of a happy childhood. The verses move as quickly as the babies, bouncing along in quatrains in ABCB rhyme, in a somewhat singsong meter that is pleasing to young ears. Brown's tender illustrations, rendered in cut paper, gouache and colored paper, are textured and colorful. They call forth love and joy in their expressive depiction of babies and young children in all their glory and in all manner of action, instantly recognizable and universal. This is a work obviously designed to be read aloud to the littlest of listeners. The final verses are also a call to grown-ups to remember and pass along the kisses and for all children to have a loving and carefree childhood. It's a worthy and noble idea, but tiny listeners may not be able to make that leap of understanding. Nevertheless, a cozy, sweet cuddle that is just right for bedtime. (Picture book. 1-4)

Kirkus Reviews