Tickly Toes — Susan Hood

This sweet board book by bestselling children's book author Susan Hood uses playful, singsongy rhyme to capture a baby's joy in discovering her or his own toes. The voice is that of a loving adult speaking directly to Baby. "Those ten little piggies! Watch how they wiggle. We count them and kiss them and, oh, how you giggle!" Throughout the pages, we see that Baby doesn't want stuffed animals, or a rattle, or bath toys. All Baby wants is her or his own toes, and Baby even pulls off a booty to get at them! Finally, at the end of the book, Baby manages to grab a foot, and we see that the toes are headed straight into Baby's mouth. "You did it! So proud! Your sunny face glows. You grabbed them, you nabbed them -- those runaway FUN-all-day TICKLY TOES!" The artwork, by renowned author-illustrator Barroux, features close-ups of Baby, all of which spread across two pages. The bright colors and simple drawings are delightful and on their own are enough to make little ones giggle. This is a perfect book for preschoolers who still love to hear about what babies do and what happens in their lives. The voice is so encouraging as Baby eagerly approaches this developmental milestone, young children will enjoy sharing the warmth and happiness it conveys. All ten of Baby's toes are shown on several pages, which is great for counting, and one page includes all the numerals one to ten as well, for extra encouragement.