January 2009
TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES
By Mem Fox
Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
(Walker Books, 40 pages)
ISBN: 978-1406315929
IT'S a pity the board book version isn't out yet as this would then be the perfect gift for droolly little babies with curious little fingers. The hardback is still a lovely book to read aloud to little ones, thanks to Mem Fox's lovely way with rhythm and words.
Babies near and far, in tents and igloos, villages and cities, are celebrated in rhyming stanzas that each end with "ten little fingers and ten little toes". The repetition of this line creates an easy and comforting beat.
Older children can chime in and count along; parents can tickle, tweak and kiss. Oxenbury's babies are a variety of colours and nationalities, each a precious and cuddlesome bundle of joy that you will want to scoop off the page and bounce on your knee along with your own "sweet little child" who is the final focus of the book.
P.S. Roger Sutton has written a post about this book, pointing out that not all babies have 10 fingers and 10 toes. True, and it never occurred to me. Some comments say that it's possible to be too sensitive about how much a book excludes some readers - for example, in this book, those who don't have 10 fingers or toes. I say, it doesn't hurt to show some sensitivity. I still adore this book - I just think that I will probably not use it for storytime at public events.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes was chosen by booksellers in the States as their favourite picture book of 2008.
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