Toe Tapper

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Budding Shirley Temples or Sammy Davis, Jrs., will delight in this fun
toe-tapper kit, which consists of two strap-on “click-clackers”
(that can be attached to either hands or feet) and an instruction book.
The click-clackers are based on that well-known childhood toy, the
“cricket,” which emits a sharp clicking noise every time someone
presses down on it with a hand or foot.

A great deal of information is covered in the deceptively simple book.
The format employs photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, standard music
bars, and prose poems to explain how hands and feet can be used to
create music. The reader is encouraged to put on the click-clackers and
“stomp like an elephant,” “run like a monkey,” or “waddle like
a duck.” More advanced tappers are encouraged to click-clack to the
rhythm of poetry (to feel the rhythm of language), to develop more
sophisticated percussion talents. The book is cleverly constructed so
that it lays flat and the pages stay open while the reader’s hands are
occupied with clicking and clapping. The book also provides information
on the theory and history of percussion, the history of tap dancing, how
to make your own tap shoes, the fun noises you can make with everyday
household objects, and what percussion instruments are used by other
cultures. Highly recommended.