Barn Dance! Ages 4-8

In an old farmhouse, bathed in the light of a full moon, a young boy creeps to his bedroom window and looks outside. Was that a voice he just heard, or the hooting of an owl? There it is again:

Come a little closer...
Come a little closer...
Listen to the night...
There's music in the air...

Beckoned by the voice, the boy sneaks downstairs, out the door, and walks toward the barn. As he gets closer he hears the sweet sound of a country fiddler and the rhythmic thumping of dancing feet. But who could possibly be having a barn dance in the middle of the night?

Barn Dance!

By Bill Martin, Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault, Ted Rand

Illustrated by Ted Rand

Edition: illustrated, reprint

Published by Henry Holt & Company, 1988

ISBN 0805007997, 9780805007992

32 pages Ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Childhood Education: Sheer Magic! A fun-filled romp, ideal for READING ALOUD.
Booklist: Starred Review "A rousing, rowdy tale pulsing with the rhythm of country music. . . . Rand's raucous . . . watercolor spreads are a spirited as the story poem."

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3 With a rhythmic cadence Martin and Archambault build their story from a quiet moonlit night when ``there's magic in the air'' to a very special foot stompin' party and back again. On this eerie night everyone is asleep except for the ``skinny kid with questions in his head.'' With him readers sneak out to the barn and hide just in time to see all the farm animals kick up their heels to the scarecrow's fiddle music. While the words are a delight to hear (albeit it's a bit hard to get the tongue around on some lines), Rand's pictures make the story come alive. The two-page spreads range from the barn standing ghost-like in the full moonlight to the colorful interior of the barn, where the figures seem to be in perpetual motion. An engaging blend of words and pictures to set both the mind and eye dancing. Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.