Whose Knees Are These?

by Jabari Asim, LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

A vibrant, multicultural board book that celebrates a baby's sweet knees, for fans of Ten Tiny Fingers and Ten Little Toes.




Parents and children will enjoy this interactive board book full of toddler appeal that is perfect for celebrating a baby's adorable knees.




Snuggle with your child on your lap while you enjoy this fun, rhyming text and bold artwork.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, African American, Bodies, Kids, Race

22 pages, Board Book

First published March 1, 2006

About the author

Praise for Only The Strong

"Jabari Asim is such an elegant writer that you won't realize how smoothly he drew you in until you're halfway through this book. Humane and humorous, compassionate and willing to get a little rough, this describes both the writer and the novel. Only The Strong does for St. Louis what Edward P. Jones has done for Washington D.C., Raymond Chandler for Los Angeles---marked it as place on the literary map where you'll want to stay for a long while. A riveting novel." --Victor LaValle, author of The Devil in Silver

“Only the Strong is a lushly atmospheric and passionately written piece of work, bursting with colorful characters that shine on every page.” ---Bernice L. McFadden, author of Gathering of Waters

"Only the Strong effortlessly transmits Jabari Asim’s profound affection for this book's charismatic and varied characters. This is a vivid, revelatory portrait of 1970s America in the disheartened aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death." —Rafael Yglesias, author of The Wisdom of Perversity

"There's an eerie timeliness to the publication of this fictional study of Saint Louis black communities of the 1970s. Only the Strong reminds me of Chester Himes’ Harlem entertainments—in its deceptively light handling of desperately serious subject matter. Jabari Asim is a writer to watch, and to listen to closely, in these difficult times." —Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising and Zig Zag Wanderer

"It is like stepping into a time capsule of my old neighborhood in the 1970s...to read about Gateway City, Jabari Asim’s fascinating rendition of St. Louis, as an adult brings back memories of time and place, and also admiration for his storytelling." —Susan Straight, author of Between Heaven and Here and A Million Nightingales


Praise for A Taste Of Honey

"A Taste of Honey has the power of memoir and the poetry of fiction. Suddenly, it is 1968 once more, with all of the hope and violence and seismic change that rocked the cities that summer. It's all here and it's all beautifully rendered. This books is a gem."
—Chris Bohjalian, author of Secrets of Eden

"Jabari Asim has written a brilliant coming-of-age tale filled with compelling characters navigating race relations in 1968, navigating familial and neighborhood demands, and triumphantly reaffirming what it means to be human. A lovely, lyrical collection of connected stories that will leave readers breathless and ecstatic with passion and joy."
—Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Yellow Moon

"Offering the bitter with the sweet, Jabari Asim's first collection of stories, A Taste Of Honey, serves up a multilayered dish. Asim ranges through and across a Midwestern African American community in the wake of the civil rights movement and the social changes of the last forty years, writing from the inside out and unforgettably bringing to life a world that still is too seldom seen in American fiction."
—John Keene, author of Annotations

"Jabari Asim's rich short stories read like a novel . . . full of people we love getting to know—Rose, Gabriel, Pristine, Ed, Reuben, and Guts. I particularly loved the male characters in these pages . . . men who live by their brains and their brawn, shelter their children, their community. They embrace their wives. They love hard, laugh deep, and cry inside."
—Denise Nicholas, author of Freshwater Road

"Asim successfully delves into politics, domestic violence, racial identity, young love, and more in this humorous and poignant collection..."
—Publishers Weekly

"With his debut work of fiction, the Guggenheim Fellow proves himself to be a promising storyteller." -Library Journal

"This fiction rings true." -Kirkus Reviews

More about Jabari Asim

He is the author of What Obama Means . . . For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future,, The N Word

Reviews

[Effie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet board book. I love the little glimpses we get of the owner of those knees as we go along. Very playful and sweet. Great positive words used to describe the knees and its owner, "So brown and strong, to whom do these fine knees belong?" also, these knees are "charming" "mighty" and belong to a "cheerful chap." I'm so happy to see this book because representation matters. Little ones will love this.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Whose Knees Are These" by Jabari Asim was fantastic. I found this book in the library while looking through the children's section for a book to read to my daughter. She loved it, and she laughed the whole way through...especially since I pointed to her knees as I was reading the book. Mr. Asim, along with his illustrator LeUyen Pham, has come up with such a creative way to teach children about their knees...and, the pictures flow right along with the story. It was such a great read, and a wonderful why for children to become more conscious of their knees.
I give it 5 stars.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think both Elliot and I would have enjoyed this more if we had read it when he was younger since it had cute but simple text that didn’t seem to interest him much. It was all about a boy’s knees, which is a cute idea, but Elliot’s just not interested in his knees (his nose and toes, on the other hand...) so it just didn’t hold his attention. I like that it featured a Brown boy and his mom, which has been a goal to read books with diverse children

*library book. Age 20 months

[Kirstin LaBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book for toddlers or very young readers. The words flow easily and the rhyming makes it a little more bearable to read as an adult.
I gave this book a 1 star rating because although the illustrations are cute and it rhymes nicely, there is not a whole lot of content there. Im not even sure what the theme or moral of this book is.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something to be said about a child being able to see themselves in a book. I truly appreciate that in this book the child is darker in complexion so that those who are similar can relate. It also has a great rhythm to it that is absolutely adorable.

[Ms. Arca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool concept, and maybe would love this if I didn’t read alone but instead read to one of my bb loves. Reading it by myself it didn’t impress me much, and the art felt lacking and didn’t do it for me.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different concept as it focuses on the one body part, the knees. Illustrations depict the knees of the toddler and the various activities knees help us perform. Most of the illustrations depict 5he toddler from the waist down.

[Candelaria Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have bought more than a dozen copies of this book and Whose Toes are Those by Jabari Asim. It is one of my go-to gifts when new babies are being born. I also occasionally do "random bookings" on public transportation and this one is one that I give. It's joyful, simple, and a great board book.

[Ethan Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book for kids where it is not as focused on a lesson more on the creative art work they can see as the story progresses. This would be a great book to read at the elementary during story time to better appreciate their knees in a humorous way.

[Kary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for baby/toddler storytime. Use for body part theme. Would follow with singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

[Ashley Frickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and simple story about a little boy’s knees – running, swinging from a tree, and dangling from a boat.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet book with some pictures that are (I think) deliberately difficult to make out

[Milton Louie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning about the knees. B

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like rhyming and I like multicultural. but the rhythm isn't quite right the whole way through for me. Do like the other knees in the illustrations.

[Patience Temple · Rating 5 out of 5]

rhyming words, simple text with some new vocabulary for young children. Illustrations keep the students wonder along with the text, whose knees are these? A simple and fun read aloud book.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed very much reading this book. I love the images and the rhyming. Perfect for mother and child.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the illustrations.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

February 2020

[Calli Leventis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the rhythm

[Ruth Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute board book with lots of illustrations of one set of knees.
Not really interactive, unless readers point to their left/right knees.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute. Wish we’d discovered it years ago.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the right amount of rhyming text per page to keep turning for a wiggly little kid.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet rhyming text and peek-a-boo illustrations with fun things to talk about on each page. I did find the last page had disturbingly red lips, but it's possible the color was off on my copy?

[SamSamSam · Rating 5 out of 5]

TALK, PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, everyday diversity

[Johnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the normalcy of this book.

Also; when I searched this title, there was a Sesame Street book just like it. It made my heart smile to see that!

[elstaffe]

4.5 rounds up to five stars: minus half a star for the presence of mice.

[Rachel Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable!

[Callum Legere · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whose knees are these brown knees? Who could they be?

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite sweet.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 0 and up. A rhyming board book for infants and toddlers about a pair of beautiful brown knees. Important for children of color for shaping their self-esteem, important for white children for shaping their notions of beauty.