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Barnyard Dance!
By Ann Marie Sammataro,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Lively pace takes readers on an exhilarating ride.
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Based on 5 parent reviews
Best of Boynton
What's the Story?
In the tradition of an old-fashioned hoedown, Boynton's trademark band of animals take to the floor in a rowdy square dance. A cool cow, sporting green shades and wielding a fiddle, calls out the moves as a collection of fleet, four-footed dancers spin, twirl, and promenade the day away. Rambunctious illustrations are rib-tickling kid pleasers.
In a parody of a square dance, barnyard animals execute classic hoedown moves such as bowing to, or swinging with, a partner. In addition to these traditional steps, Boynton's verses highlight each animal's unique movements, calling for the dancers to move like trotting turkeys, prancing horses, skittering mice, and so forth.
Is It Any Good?
BARNYARD DANCE's lively pace sweeps readers along for an exhilarating ride. Text and illustrations vibrate with an infectious joie de vivre, bringing smiles to readers' faces. The swinging verses tap into toddlers' love of movement and song; preschoolers can have a blast doing their own rendition of the dance. However, even a reader as young as 8 months old enjoyed a read-aloud session, flashing gummy grins and emitting happy coos.
Sandra Boynton's fanciful illustrations delight children; dogs and bunnies frolic together, while a pig whirls about a slightly bewildered-looking sheep. The simply drawn pictures on a pure white background focus the reader's attention on the comical characterizations. Little ones will be reaching for this book time and again. The catchy rhymes and humorous pictures make it easy for parents and caregivers to comply with repeated requests for this story.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about animal sounds. Try moving like some of the animals in the story, and make up your own silly dance. How can you learn more about the animals in the book?
Book Details
- Author: Sandra Boynton
- Illustrator: Sandra Boynton
- Genre: Picture Book
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Workman Publishing Co.
- Publication date: January 1, 1993
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 2 - 4
- Number of pages: 24
- Last updated: November 15, 2019
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