These Little Feet by Hayley Rawsthorne and Briony Stewart

Title: These Little Feet

Author: Hayley Rawsthorne and Briony Stewart

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Allen and Unwin/Albert Street Books

Published: 3^rd October 2023

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 24

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: In the classic tradition of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and Kissed by the Moon, These Little Feet will take you and your little one on a joyous journey of love, hope and dreams for the future. The perfect gift for newborns and new parents.

These little feet, so tiny and new.

The places they’ll go, the dances they’ll do.

The mountains they’ll climb, the dreams they’ll pursue.

These little feet, so tiny and new.

A delightful celebration of love, hope and promise, this beautiful picture book perfectly captures the precious dreams of childhood and parenting.

~*~

These little feet is a story and celebration about babies spanning several generations across one family, starting in about the 1920s or 1930s, and going through the decades towards today, with each generation exploring a different sense: feet, hands, eyes, ears, and mouths across generations of the same family.

It is a lovely poem that is filled with love and magic, history and family as the parents and children in each generation grow and learn about each other, the parents pass down their love and show the children that they are special and can be anything they dream of, to reach for their goals. It shows that each child is unique, with their own interests and challenges and also shows how diverse the family becomes over time, and the way they embrace the changes around them.

A lot of things may change throughout this book, but the love of mum, bub, and family never does, and is the one constant throughout the poem. It is a gentle book, perfect for young children, babies, and parents to read together while they are getting to know each other or a new sibling. It is filled with heart and soul, showing that there is magic everywhere, every day, in the things and people around us. This is a book that will be loved by families as well, and one that is perfect to teach children about themselves and that all families look different.

I loved the way the family evolved – the way they looked, what they did, their interests, and the people who made up the family, reflecting a vast array of realities for many people around the world and their experiences. Each picture made the words sing, gave them more life and vigour, showing that differences should be celebrated, and that everyone is part of the world. I loved this book and hope lots of families love it too.