Righty and Lefty: A tale of two feet by Rachel Vail - review

During that portion of my life known as The Diaper Years, I used to talk to feet. It was a good way to keep a child distracted while on his back on the changing table. As I recall, the left foot was Happy Foot and the right was Grumpy Foot. (The rest, I have blocked out.)

Happy Foot would say to me, "Ooo! Hi there! I am so happy to see you!" and Grumpy Foot would say, "Take your hands off me, whaddaya doin down there? Back off, lady!" Kid would dissolve into fits of giggles.

I would say, "I'm happy to see you too, Happy Foot! What's the deal with your brother over there? He seems kind of crabby," and Happy Foot would say, "Ooo! All he needs is a big kiss! Come here, you!"

Grumpy Foot would flee as far as his fat leg would take him (that would be me, yanking the child's foot around), and Happy Foot would pursue. Grumpy Foot would make "Bleagh!" sounds and Happy Foot would make kissy sounds.

Foot puppets. That's my milieu. I kill with foot puppets. There is NO VIDEO of me doing Happy Foot and Grumpy Foot. My performance masterpiece, and it is lost to the mists of memory. No justice.

Anyway, Righty and Lefty: A tale of two feet is pretty much Happy Foot and Grumpy Foot - illustrated. It is funny funny funny.

They help each other out of their sneakers.
"Ew," says Lefty. "You stink."
"You stink, too," says Righty.
"I know," says Lefty. "We are quite a pair."
They chase each other around.

(Righty and Lefty would appear to be boys)

A boo-boo bunny comes to help.
It has no legs and is freezing cold.
Lefty does not trust this bunny.

Dude, Lefty, follow your instincts.

This book also works really well as a bedtime book. At the end, Lefty wants to go to sleep but Righty wants to keep playing. After a while, Righty realizes that it's no fun to stay up by himself, and he slides in under the covers with Lefty. Very peaceful end to a very fun and unpredictable book about brothers.