From Head to Toe
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From Head to Toe

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05  ·  rating details  ·  2,354 ratings  ·  116 reviews

Are you ready?
Here we go!
Move yourself
From Head to Toe

I can do it! That's what kids will say when they wiggle, stomp, thump, and bend across the pages of this book. Laughter and squeals of delight will abound as boys and girls (and their elders, too!) participate in the action.

Board Books
Published May 31st 1999
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,786)
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Elizabeth Sciarra
I really enjoy reading Eric Carle books because I think the illustrations really make it. I like the way that it is a collage type picture instead of something that has been drawn out.

I thought this book was good because it teaches children all of the different ways that their bodies can move. It is very informative without being boring. It would also be really fun for kids to follow along with the teacher or their parents who are reading it to them. They can be active and having fun w...more
Jessica Judd
From Head to Toe, is a book that is perfect to use when students need to get up and moving. It shows animals doing different body movements and asks the reader if they can do them too. The book is filled with simple color illustrations and lends itself well to whole group or small group activity time. Once students know the book, it could also be used as a read-along.

Instructional Activities:

The class could make their own From Head to Toe book. Each student could create t...more
Dana
For storytime, Eric Carle is one of those authors that can seemingly do no wrong, and From Head to Toe is no exception. Through words and Carle's distinctive artistic images, children are prompted to move their body like an animal with a simple "Can you?" Heads are turned, arms are waved, and toes are wiggled. But one caution. In a large crowd, you may want to skip the donkey kicking so no one ends up kicking their neighbor, especially if you have a rambunctious group that kicks like t...more
Adriana Mendoza
“I am a monkey and I wave my arms. Can you do it? I can do it.” From Head to Toe is one of my most favorite Eric Carle books. This book engages children in not only learning animal names but it communicates how the animals move their body parts and prompts the reader to mimic the animals. Very educational, readers will not only learn about animals but will learn their body parts. Best of all, it will get the kids moving. For those children that are kinesthetic learners this is incredible book. I...more
Jessica
This book goes through different animals and says what they can do. Then it asks if you can do that. “I am a monkey and I wave my arms. Can you do it?” It starts with your head and moves down to wiggling your toes. Each animal does something different. It is a good book because it involves the children. The children have to do all of the different actions with the animals. It would be a good book to use in a unit about learning about themselves. You can talk about the different body parts ...more
Dianne
Anyone who reads a lot of Eric Carle's books cannot fail to notice that there is a hierarchy of things that turn Carle on:

1. Animals. Carle obviously adores animals.
2. Fabrics. Carle loves texture and pattern.
3. Human hair. His hair is somewhat less pleasing than his fabrics

And then somewhere, way, way down at the bottom of the hierarchy comes "Human face and figure." It is always jarring to me to compare his beautifully articulated animals that pra...more
Pretend City Children's Museum
We had so much fun reading this book yesterday! Not only did we get to look at all the bright and colorful animals, but we also got to get up and move like them too! This is such a great book to get your children to explore different kinds of movements that your body can make, recognize colors and name animals!

Grown-up tip: Even though your baby can’t read yet, you are promoting strong relationships, encouraging listening and language skills, promoting attention and curiosity, and e...more
Candice
Candice rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Sophie
Shelves: picture-books
This is a terrific book to read to children, even the very young. It shows how different animals move, and then asks the child, "Can you do it?" The penguin can turn its head, the giraffe bend its neck, the buffalo raise its shoulders, and a host of other animals offer their moves. My granddaughter has loved this book and its invitation to movement for a long time. I can see why. I love the way Eric Carle illustrates the animals, but not the children.
Karawan
This book is such fun! The illustrations, as with all Eric Carle books, are gorgeous. It has animals and body parts, as well as fun actions for each body part that children can do while you read to them. As with all the books at storytime, I feel like I need to remember this because Gavin might get more out of it when he's older. (He's 9.5 months and most of the other kids are more like 18 months) Even though he didn't catch on to the idea of acting it out, he seemed to like the book. He cr...more
Jennifer
I'm not a huge Eric Carle fan. Shoot me. But I like this book quite well for toddler readers. Carle goes from top to toe, with one animal per body part, from the penguin turning its head to the parrot wiggling its toe. On each facing page, a child imitates the action, and that's where the fun comes in, with your lap listener getting down on the floor and shrugging her shoulders like the buffalo or waving his arms like a monkey.
Saby
Saby rated it 2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Children
Shelves: a-mama-s-review, 2011
Originality: 3
Illustrations: 5
Story: 4
BooBoo: 3

We love all Eric Carle books. But this is not one of our favourites. This book is about what animals do. There isn't a story. And as fans of Eric Carle we've seen these animals before. While there is a concept to be learned here. It will not be absorbed because the non existent story can't keep the reader's attention.
Sarah Sammis
Sean is a huge fan of Eric Carle's book and has probably read more of them at school than we have together at home. When I saw a copy of From Head to Toe at the library discard shelf, I had to snatch it up for his collection.

The book asks children to move with the animals in the book. Each page shows first an animal doing a motion and then an illustrated child doing the same thing. For example: "I am a penguin and I can turn my head. Can you do it?" The child replies, "...more
Nichole
This is a fun book to read with kindergartners. the book goes through different animals and movements they can do then it asks you if you can do it. For example, "I am a buffalo and i can raise my shoulders. Can you do it? I can do it!" Its a great book to get your students wiggles out of you allow them to stand up and do the movements along with the book.
Josiah
I have to admit that I found Eric Carle's acknowledgements at the beginning of this book to be perhaps the most interesting part of it. I was unaware of his personal roots in Germany, back in the days when modern art was seen as something evil.
"From Head to Toe" is a good book, very similar to the other children's volumes that Eric Carle has produced.
Bethann
I thought this book was an excellent way to get your class moving. I would love to use this book on a particular day that my students were restless. They could get up and do whatever the animals say they can do. They could also join in with the book and say, "I can do it!" This book would be great to get kids involved and up and moving.
Angela Williams
Grades PreK-1st

Carle uses bright colors and large pictures to draw in children. The text is limited to one or two sentences (or question) per page. The children will enjoy the bold color selection as well as being able to act out the book.

Science/Reading


Lesson Idea: Have the students identify the different parts of the body.
Ashley Williams
This is a great book to use to get kids up and moving in between assignments. It also would be great to start a lesson on animal characteristics, like different movement, appearance, growth, and needs. I would focus on how animals move and how it may be different from one animal to the next.
Julie Woods
This is a great book to help young ones get some energy off. My daughter loved to imitate the body movements in the book. She was also able to identify the animals on the pages. The pictures were nicely illustrated and easy for her to imitate. This book would go great with some music.
April Castle
This book was great. I could see this big book being read to a lower elementary and the students loving it. Each child can particpate with this book and do what the animal does. It is repetitive with words and predictable. This book can get the kids engaged with motor skills.

Laura
I think this may be a favorite of my preschool children. They love for me to read this story as the move and act out each page. Eric Carle always provides an engaging and beautifully illustrated book. This is a great way to get kids up and moving and teach them parts of the body!
Asha Smith
This book is about movement. It also teaches you about several animals that have weird sounds and movements. The repetitve phrase in the story is catching "Can you do it?" Mostly for younger children like preschool because they can explore new animals, sounds and movements.
Robert
A wonderfully-illustrated Eric Carle book. We like this book as it encourages reader participation such as:

"I am a penguin and I can turn my head. can you do it?"

"I can do it."

My children have enjoyed this book and now my daughter is beginning to read it herself.
Trish
I am currently doing a "Reading Hour" at a local public kindergarten of EAL (English as an Additional Language)learners. The 5 year olds were very much entranced by the pictures and by the third page were attuned to the repetitive rhythm of the story and were "reading" with me.
Mhm Storytelling
This is a great book for children to interact with allowing them to get up and move around. The pictures are great and I think the children will find it fun like the other Eric Carle books! Good themes for this book include, animals and doing things by yourself.
Liz B
This is a book to get your students up and moving. This book is an easy reader with a repetitive text about a variety of animals and how they move. Can you move like them? It is a fun book that the students will be actively involved in while reading.
Stephanie Allen
By describing the ways different animals move, this book helps children learn to move their bodies. They do such moves as bending their knees or arching their backs. This book would be used with very young children in preschool or kindergarten.
William Alexander
My kids loved this book. They spent many nights acting out the animals on every turn of the page. We have several video tapings of them dancing and acting out the story. One of my most favorite of all children books. Ideal for kids under 4.
Michelle Carter
When I was PTA president at my children's school we had the Gwinnett Gladiators come to our school for Reading Night. This was the book that the players read to our students. The children loved doing all the movements with this big group of guys - fun.
Jamin Osborne
This is a repetitive book with a series of animals performing actions with their bodies and various children responding, "I can do it." The illustrations are very representative of Eric Carle and his style. I think that this book would be fitting for very young children who have this book read to them and are prompted by the reader to also perform the actions introduced by the animals. The book is also very good for early readers.
Nichole
We love Eric Carle books. This book shows animal movements and asks the reader if they can move like that animal too. Great book for kids who are really active or have a hard time sitting quietly for story time.
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From Head to Toe Big Book (Paperback)
From Head to Toe (Paperback)
From Head to Toe (Hardcover)
From Head To Toe (Picture Puffin)
De La Cabeza a Los Pies: Head to Toe (Spanish Edition)

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Eric Carle (born June 25, 1929) is a children's book author and illustrator, most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has been translated into over 30 languages. Since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 71 million copies of his books have sold around ...more
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