Description A joyful outing for a baby just learning to walk. This book personifies a toddler's unsteady first steps through a pair of little shoes, capturing the experience in a fun and beautiful way. A pair of white shoes with a yellow ribbon goes thump, thump, thump. The shoes hurry along—thump thump thump—then rise up on their tiptoes—tap tap tap—then jump higher and higher, hop hop hop. But then... they tumble and fall! Don't worry, though—you'll see the brave little shoes get right back up all on their own, with a determined "up we go!" Publisher's Review This book personifies the wobbly, unsteady steps of a toddler just learning to walk. It beautifully and playfully portrays the joyful outing of a baby taking their very first steps, helping children easily understand the many little adventures—and mishaps—that come with learning to walk. About the Author Author: Akiko Hayashi Born in Tokyo, Japan, she graduated from the Art Department of the Faculty of Education at Yokohama National University. She studied picture book illustration while drawing cuts for the magazine "Mother's Friend" (published by Fukuinkan Shoten), and currently lives in Tokyo. In 1980, she received the 2nd Japan Picture Book Award for "What Day Is Today?" In 1983, she won the Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award for Art for "Bath Time Is Fun." In 1988, she received the French Picture Book Award for "I Can Go Camping Too." In 1990 and 1992, her book "Ami and Kuma-chan" won the Kodansha Publishing Culture Award and the American Reading-Magic Award, respectively. Her many picture books include "Suni and Her Little Brother," "My Brother Is in the Hospital," "Isul's First Errand," "Today Is Picnic Day," "Don't Go Alone," "Goodnight Moon," "A Hand Popped Out," "Sak Sak Sak," "Little Shoes, Walk On!," "The Baby Goat Who Could Count to Ten," "Paints in the Forest," and "The Leaf House in the Forest," among many others. Media Review Right Foot, Left Foot: The only character to appear in this book is a pair of adorable baby shoes. These little shoes walk, run, fall down, get back up, and finally fall asleep. Though the baby itself never appears on the page, the little shoes perfectly capture the wobbly, toddling movements of a baby learning to walk. With a simple one-beat rhythm and just eight simple scenes, the book keeps its background plain and its shoe illustrations simple in shape. And yet, it fully captures the experience of a baby going outside—walking, running, tumbling down, struggling to get back up, and finally growing tired and falling asleep. Though the shoes look simple, they perfectly reflect the baby's expression in each passing moment. The text is clean and rhythmic, and the words and pictures fit together so seamlessly that babies love it even more when it's read aloud to them. As their eyes follow the shoes across the page, the lively rhythm of the words seems to make everything even more exciting. And because walking, running, falling, struggling back up, and finally drifting off to sleep are some of the most important events in the life of a toddler just learning to walk, they find it all the more thrilling. This is a book we'd love to recommend to children who have just learned to walk and can't wait to go outside and explore.