A cute story about the power of imagination paired with beautiful illustrations. Thuy just wants to fit in and so she takes us along with her on her journey of discovery of strength, support, and resilience.

This is an inspiring and timely story on tolerance, bullying and an alternative family lifestyle.




Thuy is a young Vietnamese American girl and she is taunted and bullied at school by her peers because of her ethnicity and the fact that in her family she has two moms. She is overcome by her emotions of feeling helpless and the injustice of the meanness that is directed towards her.

On her way home this sweet creative little girl sets her imagination free after an encounter with a beautiful red cardinal. She emulates the lovely bird's footprints in the white snow and its call:

"Thuy points her feet in a V shape and hops once, lightly, leaving shallow prints." "Chirp chirp chirp!" Thuy squeaks and flaps her arms."


As her journey homeward progresses so does her diverse footprints. She imprints a variety of different animal tracks transferring her frustration and anger into creativity, quietness, and peace.

Finally Thuy arrives home and is greeted by her two moms who are out shovelling snow in their front yard. After talking with their daughter and finding out that she feels different than her peers and ostracized by them, the two moms immediately offer Thuy comfort, strength and understanding. Their wise advice and unconditional love offer a beautiful safety net for Thuy and shows her that she has strong family support and is loved deeply by them both. I love the book and recommend it.

I received an ARC from Capstone Edition through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such an inspiring read!

“There are lots of different ways to be strong. An eagle is strong at flying in the sky. A dolphin is strong at swimming in the sea” – Momma Arti

This is not your average book about bullying. Thuy is a Vietnamese American girl that has two moms. We meet Thuy when she is walking away from her bullies. I particularly liked this about the book, it is not focused on the bullies but rather takes the reader directly into Thuy’s brilliant mind and, later, we see how she manages her insecurities with a little help from her moms, Momma Ngoc and Mamma Arti.

I chose this book both because of its beautiful illustrations and because it is uncommon to find a children’s book that so actively presents lgbttq+ characters. The illustrations enhance the story, we get to see not only Thuy and her moms, but we also get a glimpse into their minds. Colorful animals (real and imagined ones) fill the pages of the book while Thuy tries to find her own footprints in the snow. The footprints are such a clever metaphor for Thuy finding her place in the world. Her two moms go through this brief journey with her and help her imagine different magnificent creatures, like the Phoenix and the Sarabha, so Thuy can finally see for herself her own “creature’s” footprints. As Momma Arti points out in the lines quoted above, every animal is strong in their own way, and Thuy finds her place (and her strength) in her family.

I would recommend this book for any parent or guardian who is looking to teach their kids about diversity and acceptance. And, of course, for anyone that thinks that we need more books that truly invite us to smile and believe that a more colorful future is possible.

I was attracted to this book because of the cover - it did not disappoint on an artistic front. I loved the art throughout this title, and really loved the details but also the simplicity of the illustrations. The little cat hat the little girl wears throughout is fun and whimsy and both reminds me of so many little girls I know, and what I myself would have loved as a girl that age!

The book itself is a fun journey in strength and resilience and imagination. The little girl is frustrated by being different, and the imagined animals, and the way her mothers help her through that, is thoroughly enjoyable to read.

Thuy is miserable. Every day she is picked on at school by the other kids. All she wants is to fit in and be left to her own devices by the other children. Alas, it is not to be. On her way home from school, Thuy creates different footprints in the snow as she imagines what it would be like to be varying and strong creatures. When she gets home, she is greeted by her mothers and - together - they invent a creature that is one-of-a-kind, and is fully capable of taking on all of Thuy's problems.

This was an incredibly beautiful book. The story - and especially the illustrations - really pulled together and made this book stand out. Children are tackling issues that are well beyond their years, and it's wonderful to have books out there that can help them to understand their predicaments a little better.

This is definitely a book that I would want for my own book collection.

A Beautiful Children’s Book Tries to Tackle Big World Topics

I’ve found that I don’t always give my kids enough credit. Like any six and nine year old, they are pretty thick headed, but they can also be sensitive, insightful and tuned it, at times. My Footprints by Bao Phi is one of those books where it doesn’t take much to empathize with the young character Thuy. She is teased and bullied in ways that just about anyone can appreciate, mainly for being different.

Throughout Phi’s book with its buoyant narrative and brilliant artwork, Thuy summons the strength to deal with being made to feel odd and unwelcome. Phi works hard at capturing the ways in which someone so young, might handle her feelings around this experience. Thuy makes sense of the taunting from students by turning to animal friends both real and imagined.

My Footprints never resorts to preachiness or tries to make the little girl into a crusader in any way. Instead, Phi creates the inner world of his character appropriate to her age. Her coping mechanism early on is represented by the footprints she can make: a fierce leopard who can camouflage, a bear that other animals are afraid of, an elephant, a snake and finally mythical creatures.

Phi brings dialogue to his narrative that at times is endearing. He demonstrates the imaginings of his character as she talks to herself and imitates the animals she imagines. In children’s literature, dialogue, good dialogue is what draws kids in, it makes stories relatable in ways that narrative alone can never do. Kids’ books are meant to be read aloud and the cardinal sin for books directed at this particular age group, is dialogue that is clunky or unintelligible. What I may be able to forgive in my head when reading a novel, I can never forgive when reading aloud to my children. Stories like My Footprints are designed to be verbal, and dialogue is the most visceral part of this kind of storytelling. In Phi’s book the dialogue can be sharp, like when Thuy describes a mythical creature:

“It can fly, and swim, and run, and it is always kind to everyone else and only eats birthday cake.”

Then there are passages of dialogue that are not so successful:

“There are lots of different ways to be strong. An eagle is strong at flying in the sky. A dolphin is strong at swimming in the sea.”

Finally there is dialogue that is frankly missing, but I’ll get into that later.

It’s the artwork that gives this book life. Set in the snow, Basia Tran creates a beautiful energy using white backgrounds, splendid overhead shots and comic book vignette boxes. Notably she is able to capture the most critical parts of the story, the different footprints made in snow—simple, yet incredibly difficult to pull off effectively. Her ability to demonstrate height when challenged by the emptiness of white space, with few ques to establishing elevation, is quite remarkable.

One particularly effective element that Tran uses is Thuy’s cat-faced stocking cap. It seems to have a life of its own. Through several of those inventive overhead shots, Thuy’s head is completely obscured by the hat, giving her the face of a cat. Clever illustrations like that are what set apart those who can just produce great artwork from those who are able to tell a compelling story through great artwork.

Tran successfully depicts Thuy in a non-gender conforming way that seems natural without trying to make a point—look, here is a tomboy and her two moms. Tran’s illustrations of the character are delightful and reminiscent of Max from Where the Wild Things Are. She successfully establishes a backdrop for her character’s sadness without pushing an in-your-face byline about same sex parents and kids who don’t fit into traditional gender roles. Having read a number of books on the market that deal with this kind of material, the treatment here is effective and feels mostly genuine.

My Footprints doesn’t shy away from the subject though. In fact Phi includes enough here for just about any kid who might feel marginalized in society. In a thirty-four page kids’ book though, it’s a tall order: sexism, racism and homophobia. These are big topics for kids and parents to handle. The truism for books in this genre dealing with difficult, real world matters is this: The story isn’t over when the story’s over.
A book like My Footprints generates questions and elicits conversations. Kids want to know: Why are the bigger kids being mean? Why does Thuy not have a dad? Why would anyone make fun of me for being a girl? Big, big, BIG topics. Since Phi puts these themes out there, it seems as though there needs to be some treatment, a way of understanding and empathizing with Thuy. That would have come from other voices in the book, dialogue that would have provided context, reactions and more of a response.

Without giving away too much, the narrative goes strangely silent. There is a subtlety to Phi’s storytelling that might not reach kids. My Footprints has symbolic references, but maybe not those that kids will be able to manage easily. I wondered for example whether footprints in the snow had some mythological meaning, instead of the simple notion that they are representations of the maker, a kind of identity. This is children’s literature though, and one should never get too deep when reading to a six-year-old.

While Phi’s treatment of difficult subjects might not be straight forward, his message is clear. Find support in those who love you, but find strength from within. Most importantly though, regardless of how others treat you, be kind and show compassion, particularly to those who are different, because in the end we are all just multi-colored hairy, eight-legged beasts.

(Note: This review is provided courtesy of the Midnight Book Club, which received a digital galley proof of this book prior to its release from NetGalley on behalf of Capstone Editions/Press. All Midnight Book Club reviews are uncompensated and reflect honest assessments of these works.)

This was a very cute story about dealing with your emotions in what turns out to be a positive way


****Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book early.****

Received as an ARC copy courtesy of Capstone and NetGalley.

A wonderful story and illustration pairing that created a great multicultural read and positive response to bullying. A wonderful way to show that parents can be our biggest gifts in helping us combat situations like bullying and dealing with the emotions that come with that. Thuy beings working through being bullied at school (again) by imagining what it would be like to be various animals, recreating their footprints in the snow and wandering away to a new life. Once she returns home, her mothers offer comfort and strength, helping her deal with her situation and showing her that family and loving support can help in the worst of situations.

The illustrations in this book are charming. I can see them grabbing the imagination of any younger reader who can slip into the story as the main character. While carefully exploring the topics of bullying and the need to fit in, the author uses the imagination of the main character to express these feelings in a safe way. Any child who has ever felt left out or different will connect to this story. This is a story that celebrates one's differences with the help and guidance of loved adults.

Let me enumerate first the positive points of this book:
- I like how the author uses Asian characters in the story (Vietnamese and Indian);
- briefly presented mythology in East Asia and India;
- same-sex relationship of the two moms by the little girl Thuy;
- I'm not sure but I surmise that the illustrator, Basia Tran, used the traditional way by using colored pencils and drawing paper, and adjustments were made in computer graphic software; and
- how Thuy's imagination is really amazing and adorable.

As for the downside, young readers might be able to decipher right away the allegory behind the story. Thuy experiences bullying at school and I felt that it was not visibly addressed on how to resolve it. Only older readers will be able to figure out immediately the lesson this book wants to impart. Adult's explanation is important so that young kids will be able to understand the lesson that as long as we have our family or loved ones, we can be braver and will endure anything. However, bullying should not be tolerated, hence, one should not suffer. Instead, the oppressed must stand up and fight against this torment.

A cute little story about finding inner strength in the face of adversity, it's imaginative and has excellent art work. It's a little thin on material and impact, but it works for the intended age group.

An illuminating and lovely way of tackling bullying and gender presentation. I loved how inclusive the narrative was consistently.

I was so excited about receiving an ARC of this new book by Bao Phi from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I loved A Different Pond and so I was thrilled to get to see what Bao Phi did next.

I am torn about this one !
-I really love the way Bao thinks carefully about stories (the author’s note made me appreciate the book much more) and how he works to put affirming and empowering stories into the world.
- I loved that the main character had a sense of curiosity, and also the up and down swings of big feelings
- I love that the main character had two mommas, who were supportive and imaginative with her

- I didn’t love how clunky and discombobulated the story felt for me at times. It was ambitious (but a cool idea!) to take on imaginary animal play, a frustrated moment after feeling bullied in the real world, and this repetitive and simple “my footprints!” exclamation/refrain. Each one of those pieces felt like they could be in different books, and even sometimes felt like they mismatched to a degree in which they represented kids of different ages (especially the “my foot prints!” refrain, that felt like a toddler story or exclamation kept in because of the love of the idea but not of actual use to the story). I was hoping it would all come together for me, it never quite did.
- While I liked her big swing in emotions, I felt like it was a missed opportunity to illustrate navigating it or sorting out what wasn’t working. The main character yells at her moms and then a frame later its like nothing happened. I suppose that is often what happens in real life, but it felt abrupt in the build of such a short, but busy story.

There’s lots to enjoy and a few pieces I think ought to be worked out. That being said this one has potential and I’m super curious to see what others see or think about it!

Tran Basia is a very good illustrator. The images have a cool, dreamy look to them - going inordinately warm and orangey for mythical creatures dragon (global mythology), phoenix (Greek mythology) and sarabha (Sharabha, Hindu mythology).

The story aims to tie being bullied (at school?) for having lesbian parents to identity (Thuy's fixation all afternoon with footprints, and recreating footprints) and dreaming big and being close to nature and having a very active imagination to being okay with who you are and I don't know what else. It's either a bit too deep or too vague for me. Mr. Bao got the idea for the story from his daughter who exclaimed 'my footprints, my footprints' while walking in the snow. He says he then combined it with the kind of world he'd like his daughter to grow up in (the one with non-bullying) being the daughter of a 'straight cis-male' (gender is according to sex). Not to offend or anything but the creature conjured up on pg. 37 after the lovely words of Thuy (meant to show she desires a world where there'd be acceptance for all people, regardless of color or creed or gender or societal role or sexual orientation) is a monster - I mean, I got scared just looking at it.

The sentences are in very small letters (so production design is not readable by kids; this would make it a book to be read to kids, probably kids re-enacting and drawing the different kinds of footprints and a conversation with parent / guardian about being different). There are also no footprints of the leopard on pg. 13.

Interesting factoid: Thuy is pronounced as Twee. Ngoc as Ynyow.

Book for children who have to confront the problem of being bullied.

A girl was being bullied. So she talks to bird and she noticed her footprints in the snow. She have fun with making different kind of footprints.

She then go home and imagine different footprints for mythical characters like dragon and phoenix.

The graphic style is Asian and it is pretty good use of perspective.

The reason behind this book is also good. People face bullies as children have to learn to accept other children who are different.

The only criticism I have for this book is, the plot is not engaging enough. Not enough "story" in the storytelling. If this is for read aloud, it is not going to make it to favorite bedtime stories list.

Thank you for writing this. The world need to have more stories on dealing with bully.

Thuy is upset about being picked on and starts making the footprints of different animals in the snow and borrowing the strengths of each of those animals. The ornately descriptive text and beautiful illustrations add to to the charm of this timely and heartwarming story about discovering our own strengths. Recommended for the Kindergarten through Grade 3 crowd.

Thank you to Bao Phi, Captstone and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this story. All opinions are my own..

A very cute picture book about acceptance and confidence in yourself. LGPBT themes are not my choice of books but I did like the book.

Beautifully illustrated story of a young girl creatively dealing with her emotions after being teased. I love how she regains her confidence and joy with her fabulous imagination.

This beautifully-illustrated picture book features a Vietnamese-American girl with two mothers who is bullied at school and uses her footprints and those of other animals on her walk home to mirror her frustration.

This book was okay. It didn't tug at my heartstrings. The conflict was not well established, and you don't understand why she's being bullied until the near the end of the book. You just know that Thuy is grumpy and she's being bullied, but the "why she's bullied" isn't answered until much later. This made it hard for me to connect with her.

This story would have been stronger if we had an immediate emotional reaction from the start of the book.

I also was disappointed that this book wasn't infused with more Vietnamese cultural elements. It felt like Thuy could have been any ethnicity.

I think that this book is about bullying but I'm not sure. A young girl is made fun of and teased for having two moms and so she plays in the snow pretending to be big animals or monsters that would scare the mean children.