WHO HAS WIGGLE-WAGGLE TOES?

This interactive, energetic lyric will easily prompt preschoolers to get up and celebrate their bodies.

Chessa’s colored-pencil, watercolor, and digital cartoon illustrations depict a culturally diverse cast of lively children who proudly embrace their different body types. Whether on the beach or on stage, the author showcases kids publicly engaging in everyday activities that encourage self-worth and positive body affirmations. Children with “knockabout knees” dance in a shower of colorful confetti while others with hula hoops “shimmy [their] big bold bottoms” proudly. Have a “kissable nose” or “flip-flop feet”? “I do,” this cast of children declares. Several children wear eyeglasses, and one uses a wheelchair; their attire (play clothes and costumes) is as varied as their skin tones and hair textures. All the children have convincingly preschool bodies, and some are noticeably chubbier than others—all are equally ebullient. The call-and-response, patterned text (“Can you flap your out-there elbows? / Yes, I can flap my out-there elbows”) invites eager audience participation, both vocal and physical. Everyone is invited to this read-along/sing-along body party that is the perfect tool for any preschool setting that seeks to affirm and teach children to celebrate their unique bodies without shame.

Fun and high-spirited—pure joy.