The Queen's Feet

Linda Ludke is a children’s librarian at the London Public Library.

Queen Daisy suffered from unruly feet. They refused to behave in a royal
manner, preferring “fuzzy red slippers with faces” or “rubber
thongs that flip-flopped” over proper, sensible shoes. Always causing
mayhem, the Queen’s spirited feet would wander off during boring
dinner speeches, or tap dance on the palace’s marble floors.

One day, they could not stand the mean, bullying ways of a visiting
King, so they kicked him in the ankle. Knowing they went too far, the
feet agree to a compromise: they would toe the royal line most of the
time, but for one hour every day they would be “footloose and fancy
free.”

Dusan Petricic fills the long, narrow pages of this book with vibrant
watercolour washes over pen-and-ink drawings. Most of the illustrations
show only Queen Daisy’s legs and feet. This playful perspective
affords lots of humorous details, from the Queen’s brightly painted
toenails to her eclectic taste in footwear. Children will fall head over
heels for this clever, pun-filled story. Highly recommended.