Thumpy Feet by Betsy Lewin

Thumpy Feet

written and illustrated by Betsy Lewin

 

Betsy Lewin has written and illustrated over thirty children's books and has collaborated with her husband to create several works inspired by their travels around the world. Lewin was given a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators Original Art show and a Caldecott Honor for Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, and several of Lewin's books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Thumpy Feet takes the reader into a day in the life of an orange cat. Large and bright illustrations show the cat eating, cleaning itself, playing and sleeping. There are only a few words on each page and each activity is described with one word varied and repeated.

Lewin uses alliteration to describe what the cat is doing and the sounds change from page to page, depending on the activity. For example, during play time the text says "flip flippy flippy flip flip," and on another page "snoozy snooze." The simple and repetitive text seems fun and not too overwhelming for this age group (2-5). All of the watercolor illustrations are shown on a white background and the pictures are outlined in a thick black. Lines are drawn around the cat to show motion and the bright colors truly make the story.

 Professional Reviews for Thumpy Feet

• Kirkus Review,  2013: "Chock-full of personality and charm, Thumpy Feet will be warmly welcomed by readers everywhere."

• Booklist, Nov. 2013: "With great economy of images and words—but still enormously playful—Lewin depicts a friendly, goofy feline’s almost zen-like existence... this one will leave children happy, happy."

•  Publishers Weekly, 2013: “Lewin's Thumpy Feet may exist in an analog format, but he's as endearingly, idiosyncratically feline as any YouTube star... Minimally propped and set against crisp white backgrounds, the action couldn't be more catlike in its concision.”

 Click here for a list of other books by Betsy Lewin.

Meet the author: A video with Betsy Lewin.

Lewin, Betsy. Thumpy Feet. New York: Holiday House, 2013. 

ISBN 978-0-8234-2901-1

$15.46 at Barnes & Noble

Work consulted: Vardell, Sylvia M. Children's Literature in Action: A Librarian's Guide. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. 

Author photo retrieved from http://www.betsylewin.com