BOOK GUIDE sheet:from head to toe, By eric carle

Supporting literacy development & school readiness.

From Head to Toe is an exciting way to explore animals and movement. As you read and act out the parts of this book with children in your care, they will have opportunities to develop their large motor skills, which varies by age, including crawling, walking, running, climbing, skipping, and hopping. This book also makes it fun to talk about the parts of the body, learn new vocabulary, and practice color and animal names, supporting early literacy development and school readiness.

INtroducing the book

Sing a story time song!

  • This increases engagement and builds a routine, so children know what to expect. Try “If You’re Ready,” to the right 

Discuss the book cover before reading.

  • This is a good way to ease into the book and have fun. Ask children what animal they see on the cover. What is he pointing to? What color is he?

Introduce characters and concepts beforehand.

  • This book is called from Head to Toe. Where is your head? Where are your toes? We’ll see animals that are big and animals that are small…
Reading the book

Use the illustrations to discuss:

  • Colors:Bluegorilla,yellowgiraffe,orangemonkey, green crocodile, etc.
  • Shapes and sizes:Tall, thingiraffe, longseal,short penguin, oval, square, triangle
  • Numbers:Onehead to turn, twoshoulders to raise, fourdonkey legs to kicks, etc.
  • Relationships:The little girl is standingnext to the buffalo; The boy is underneath the donkey
  • Textures:Fluffybuffalo,roughcrocodile, softdonkey

Invite children to relate parts of the story to their own experiences.

  • Can you do what these animals do?
  • Where is a good place to see animals? Which animal do you like best?
  • Have you ever seen these animals?

Have the children reason things out, predict, and make choices.

  • What do you think would happen if the boys and girls saw a snake?
  • Which animal is bigger, the elephant or the cat?
Other suggestions

Invite children to move like animals in the book: Scratch your head like a gorilla! Can you stretch your neck like a giraffe? How does a _____ move?

© The Parent-Child Home Program, 2017