Footloose is a book
that you immediately have to open if you loved the movie ‘Footloose’ and the
song from 1984 or the rebooted movie from 2011.
So
how do the words suit a children’s book? Kenny Loggins has written new
words/lyrics to suit the story’s setting, a zoo.
The words grab the reader from the first sentence and you’ll find yourself singing them and tapping your feet to the new opening line ‘Zookeeper Big Jack checks in his star map. Tonight’s a full moon. Some fun is comin’ soon.’
The
zoo characters dance off the page; there are rockin’ chimpanzees, wolf packs, a
rapper tiger cub, a DJ Elephant and two children that are hiding in the bushes.
The reader feels part of the midnight festivities because Tim Bower’s illustrations
show characters close-up that bleed off the page.
The
illustrations add to the story; see if you can find the two children hiding,
the mischievous chimpanzees and the moon with exquisite facial
expressions. And like the movie check
out the variety of dancing shoes.
The
book includes a CD with two songs. The first song is ‘Footloose’. It will be tremendously helpful if you
stumble with fitting the words from the pages into the beat. The second song is
called ‘Monkey Town’ and it includes elements from the songs ‘Animal
Faire/Jungle Town/ Aba Dada Honeymoon.’
These
songs will become your new earworm. The book will delight your child with every
rereading as they discover something new in the illustrations that they did not
see before.
Title: Footloose
Author: Kenny
Loggins and Dean Pitchford
Illustrator: Tim Bowers
Publisher: MoonDance
Press, $19.99
Publication
Date:
16 December 2016
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781633221185
For ages: 2 - 6
Type: Picture
Book
