Who Took My Hairy Toe?
K-Gr 3-In the same vein as "Teeny Tiny" and "The Golden Arm," this retelling of a popular Southern folktale will delight, if not frighten, the storyhour crowd. The language begs to be read aloud, with a bit of a drawl, with just the right touch of spookiness. On All Hallows' Eve, a greedy old man steals some tar from his neighbor and puts it in his pocket. Next he is digging in his neighbor's garden and finds a big hairy toe, covered in fur. He puts that into his pocket, too, and heads home. Unfortunately for him, when he goes to retrieve his goods, he finds his hand stuck to the hardened tar that, in turn, is stuck to the digit. A creature comes looking for it, repeating the refrain, "Who took my hairy toe?" The beast ends up taking the old man along with the missing part. The muted, earthy, gouache illustrations are appropriately creepy. The dark, hairy, red-eyed ogre may be too much for the youngest readers, but the older children will love it.DeAnn Tabuchi, San Anselmo Public Library, CACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.