Song and Dance Man (Dragonfly Books)

Rating:
Summary: Where is Grandpa going?
Review: He climbs tiredly into the old attic, and finds the things he needs to re-live his youth. A tophat, a cane, a dapper jacket, and suddenly he is not their old grandpa, but a funny song and dance man, from the vaudeville stage. Oh, my, but he is walking a little taller, smiling a little broader! Who is this? Can it be grandpa?

A old gentleman on a nostalgic journey helps his grandchildren (and ALL of us) realize that older folks are a rich treasure, a "human history." Sharing this story is a wonderful way to begin sharing our own family histories, as well as inspiring an interest in the old form of entertainment that has all but disappeared.

A sweet, gentle story that encourages intergenerational communication.

Rating:
Summary: Brillian Colors Draw Little Ones' Eyes
Review: I don't always agree with Caldecott nominations and winners, but this time I'm really impressed. The story is fun, but the awesome thing about this book is definitely the illustrations. Younger children who are not sucked into stories and harder to hold the attention of will be mesmerized by the paintings.

Absolutely beautiful!

Rating:
Summary: Hear the beat of dancing feet
Review: I think there must be a whole old-people-dancing picture book genre out there. Tons of these books appear on the market every year and they bring in a steady profit time and time again. Perhaps the most successful of these (which is to say, it won an award) is Karen Ackerman's charming, "Song and Dance Man". A simple tale of a grandfather puttin' on a show for his grandchildren, the book is a touching tribute to the Vaudeville kings and queens of yore.

Three bright eyed urchins appear at their grandfather's door one day, to his evident delight. Without further ado he leads them up into the house's attic where he keeps a trunk of old treasures. It takes a little sifting and shifting to find exactly what he needs, but soon Grandpa's old taps are on his feet and the lamps in the attic become the spotlights of a makeshift stage. Grandpa begins with a shuffle footed tap solo then moves on to banjo playing/singing, magic tricks, and awful old jokes. The night's entertainment is topped off with a grand finale of tapping and dancing. The crowd (of three) goes wild and everything is put away again. "But as he turns off the attic light, Grandpa glances back up the stairs, and we wonder how much he really misses that time on the vaudeville stage, when he was a song and dance man".

You've probably seen illustrations by Minnesota based artist Stephen Gammell before and just didn't know it. They've a kind of controlled insanity, though this book is not half as violent to the senses as his truly disturbing "Old Black Fly". Instead, this story comes off as merely messy, but with a vibrant undertone. The colors in the pictures are often of a sweet rainbow filled spectrum. Grandpa's nose, a permanent red, sits prominently on his kind face. I think the real joy of this book is that you know the main character is having the time of his life. He's truly enjoying reliving his days as a performer, a fact drilled home by the book's wistful final sentence. Thumbs up to author Karen Ackerman too for effectively creating such a great grandpa character. Who wouldn't want a talented guy like this in their family?

For a sweet intergenerational tale that doesn't focus (for a change) on wise advice or dealing with death, this book takes the cake. When you read a book that takes as much joy out of life as this one does, you know you're gonna find yourself going back to it again and again. Sentimental in only the best sense of the word.


Rating:
Summary: Song and Dance Man
Review: Song and Dance Man was about two grandchildren and their grandpa who used to be a song and dance man on the vaudeville stage. He takes the children up to the attic and shows them some of his old dances and costumes. He performs for them and the children feel just as if they were at the vaudeville stage watching this magnificent dance. This book shows the close relationship between grandparents and there grandchildren and is a wonderful book for children to read.

Rating:
Summary: Song and Dance Man
Review: Song and Dance Man was about two grandchildren and their grandpa who used to be a song and dance man on the vaudeville stage. He takes the children up to the attic and shows them some of his old dances and costumes. He performs for them and the children feel just as if they were at the vaudeville stage watching this magnificent dance. This book shows the close relationship between grandparents and there grandchildren and is a wonderful book for children to read.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Gift for Grandchildren!
Review: This book clearly deserves more than five stars.

It is one of those rare children's books . . . that sends important messages well while improving intergenerational conversation and helps your grandchild to learn to read. Wow! No wonder this superb book won the coveted Caldecott Award in 1989. The book is designed to be read at about the second grade level, and will be enjoyed by children from about age three when read to them.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Song and Dance Man was one of her picks.

Grandpa's three grandchildren come to visit for supper, and he tells them about the days "before people watched TV, back in the good old days, the song and dance days." Grandpa takes them on a magical journey to the attic to explore those days of yore while Grandma finishes supper. Pretty soon the old trunk in unpacked and the performance begins.

As delightful as the story is, I must say that the illustrations are even better. They are a riot of suffused color covering the rainbow, often spread over both pages with action and humor in every scene. They give the impression of being an updated version of what Norman Rockwell would have produced on the same subject in his prime.

Grandpa is allowed to be timeless with softened details and the posture of a younger man. The perspective is that of a child's so that you feel yourself looking up at him throughout, both physically and psychologically.

The clear message is that Grandpa is a worthy fellow, and that home entertainment is the best.

Now a clever grandparent can read this story to one's grandchildren and invite questions about the old days. The wise grandparent will come prepared with props to recreate what the grandparent did to entertain in the misty days of olde. The engaged grandparent will offer to teach the grandchildren how to do some of these things, whether they be dancing, playing music, magic tricks, or whatever. Pretty soon, you have a whole more interesting relationship. Some stories can follow also.

Children are interested in the past, but they often don't know how to ask about it. This book can help them and you with that quest. As a parent, you can ask your child if she or he knows what grandma and grandpa did for entertainment when they were little. When the child says he or she doesn't know, you can call grandpa and grandma and see what they say. The link can go on from there.

Having figured all that out, I suggest you also think about introducing what your own grandparents did to your grandchildren. That will be really amazing!

Have a ball together, and always be young at heart!

Rating:
Summary: Grandpa shows us all that age is a state of mind and feet!
Review: This Caldecot winner is a gentle reminder that just because a body ages, youth and spirit and love of live don't have to wither. I remember a line of an aging actress, "Inside this old body, there is still a young girl." Grandpa presents this attitude to his three grandchildren and eliminates the generation gap. His tap dance spins and shuffles transports the reader to another time and place when television didn't exist and vaudeville acts were in their golden years. The illustrations are exquisitely perfect in rendering a feel for the past and giving Grandpa a youthful sparkle. This delightful book is one that will be shared again and again among the generations.

Rating:
Summary: Song and Dance Man
Review: This delightful book written by Karen Ackerman depicts a fun and loving relationship between a grandfather and his grandchildren. The children are delighted with their grandfather's antics and his tales of a time long ago when he was young, dancing on the vaudeville stage. The book depicts the grandfather as an energetic and vivacious elderly person and a joy for his grandchildren. Young children will love the vibrant and colorful llustrations by Stephen Gammell which add a sense of excitement and reality to the story.

Note to teachers: This book can be used in a unit pertaining to family and would be an excellent source for teaching another area of diversity, the elderly.

Rating:
Summary: Good Values, Good Fun
Review: With a peep into the past, it's also the best of good old-fashioned values. A really warm, sweet, and simple story of just having fun - as a family, intergenerationally and without electronic noise. And the book is not heavy-handed, but the story sends a message about fun - and how we can all create fun without props and just our own voices and body and each other - is a good, and needed, one for both children and adults. I bought it for my 28-month-old and highly recommend this book - it leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling inside and is just a good, clean, nice story.

Rating:
Summary: Good Values, Good Fun
Review: With a peep into the past, it's also the best of good old-fashioned values. A really warm, sweet, and simple story of just having fun - as a family, intergenerationally and without electronic noise. And the book is not heavy-handed, but the story sends a message about fun - and how we can all create fun without props and just our own voices and body and each other - is a good, and needed, one for both children and adults. I bought it for my 28-month-old and highly recommend this book - it leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling inside and is just a good, clean, nice story.