'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Saturday 27 May 2017

Review: Footloose


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.’
 We all know that things go a little crazy on nights with a full moon and this story is no exception. The zoo animals let loose by holding a dance party until dawn.

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