Tippy Toes is an orange cat with expressive lime-green eyes and a penchant for exploration. Gentle rhymes speculate on Tippy's self-assured movements, as die-cut pages and flaps reveal his daily (and nightly) activities. A nervous mouse in a hole knows "the soft pit pat.../ of Tippy Toes's step on his welcome mat," and when Tippy steps out for his nocturnal adventures, his zingy eyes blend in with a sky full of fireflies. Sometimes Tippy's "purring snore" gives him away, as when he sleeps in a messy dresser drawer, unveiled behind a large flap, and sometimes it's the tracks he leaves behind: "And everyone knows, but they don't know why,/ he tippy toed through the blueberry pie!" Lewin's (Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type) smudgy watercolors—traced with bold, chalky outlines—convey Tippy's ever-inquisitive but lovable feline nature, as he trades his nighttime wanderings to curl up with a sleeping boy beneath a starry blanket: "No, nobody knows where Tippy Toes creeps/ when darkness falls and the whole world sleeps... except me." Readers fascinated by the lives of their pets should welcome this tender offering. - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, July 5, 2010
PreS-K–His white paw, green eyes, and orange tail peek out from behind die-cuts, but readers have to lift the flaps to see Tippy Toes in action. The feline perks up to watch a butterfly in the garden, takes a shortcut across the kitchen counter by walking through a blueberry pie, and darts off the page to avoid a spray of water. Lewin’s vivacious cartoons capture a day in the life of a lively cat, in plain view by day, mysterious at night. Oversize watercolors outlined in a thick black line add humor to the text (a “No Cats!” sign above the mouse hole) and the bright hues seen in the flowers, sun, and cat’s fur enhance the changing backgrounds. Rhyming sentences come together with the turn of a page and continue to the satisfying page turn at the end. This cat’s sun up to sun down routine makes an excellent choice for those looking for a new bedtime story.–Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada
-SLJ Sept 2010
Lewin, Betsy
Where Is Tippy Toes?; written and illus. by Betsy Lewin.
Atheneum, 201032p ISBN 978-1-4169-3808-8$16.99 R2-5 yrs
Tippy Toes is a big, friendly-looking orange cat, and during the day, this rhyming text explains, he’s easy to find as he gambols about his usual haunts or snores contentedly in a dresser drawer. “But nobody knows where Tippy Toes goes,” the narrator goes on to explain, “when the moon is full and the night wind blows”—nobody, that is, save the speaker, a tow-headed kid curled up in bed alongside a Tippy Toes all tucked up under lift-the-flap covers. There’s a gentle bounce to the verse that makes it suitable for both daytime and bedtime, and the touches of humor and kitty realism (Tippy Toes tracks across the blueberry pie, leaving berry-tinted pawprints in his wake) make the progression as enjoyable as the final reveal. Lewin aims for maximum closeup appeal in her amiable watercolor illustrations; colors are strong and simple, with spring greens (and cat’s-eye green) a strong presence throughout and sunny floral yellow a cheerful accomplice.
Compositions are neat and deftly varied, and the periodic die-cut apertures or lift-the-flap reveals enhance the playful undertones as well as enticing little hands to grab hold of reading in a most literal fashion. A cute kitty, a resonant text, and some entertaining peekaboo reveals—what more could a toddler want? DS
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Sept. 2010
Where Is Tippy Toes?
Written and illustrated by Betsy Lewin
"Everyone knows where Tippy Toes is/when the sun is up and the day is his." The marmalade kitty has lots of predictable haunts, but nobody knows where he goes at night except one small person. Betsy Lewin makes the most of this simple rhyming story with big bold watercolors and die-cut pages that reveal the cat's whereabouts, whether through a mousehole, in a flower garden, or under clothes in a dresser drawer. The one person who knows where Tippy Toes goes is the child whose covers one lifts to reveal the cat sleeping in his arms. This square book with its lilting verse and amusing and endearing art will please readers and listeners alike. The sturdy, glossy pages will ensure that the book holds up to all the repeat readings that young ones are guaranteed to demand.
—Library Media Connection, Nov/Dec 2010, *STAR
PreS-K—His white paw, green eyes, and orange tail peek out from behind die-cuts, but readers have to lift the flaps to see Tippy Toes in action. The feline perks up to watch a butterfly in the garden, takes a shortcut across the kitchen counter by walking through a blueberry pie, and darts off the page to avoid a spray of water. Lewin's vivacious cartoons capture a day in the life of a lively cat, in plain view by day, mysterious at night. Oversize watercolors outlined in a thick black line add humor to the text (a "No Cats!" sign above the mouse hole) and the bright hues seen in the flowers, sun, and cat's fur enhance the changing backgrounds. Rhyming sentences come together with the turn of a page and continue to the satisfying page turn at the end. This cat's sun up to sun down routine makes an excellent choice for those looking for a new bedtime story.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada
