Barnyard Dance! (Oversized Lap Edition)

Another winner from Sandra Boynton! This wonderful book combines her classic, adorable animal characters with square dance-like commands to make it a participatory activity. Even the youngest of toddlers should be able to follow the simple instructions such as "bow to the horse - bow to the cow." As they get older, they will love repeating the fun sound effects as well, from "cheep cheep cheep!" to "quack quack quack!" Of course, each stanza also rhymes beautifully, further delighting the little ones and making it a joy to read for parents. When my niece was about 20 months old, she never tired of hearing this book and doing the dance--there was nothing cuter than seeing her do her little bow to start it off! This book will provide hours of fun for both the kids AND the adults--highly recommended!

This is a fun book to read. I look for books that have simple pictures that help tell the story. (I believe sometimes the pictures in childrens' books get too distracting with too many things going on.) I look for books that have bright colors that keep my child interested in the pages. I look for books that we can do more than just read the book. This book fits all those catagories. This pictures are simple and yet exciting enough that the keep my child's attention. We like to try to act out the dance the animals are doing after we have read the book. Sometimes we sing this book to a country music type of tune. The rythm of this book makes it a lot of fun to read. We are able to count the animals, make the sounds the animals make and in general have a great time with this book. All of the books by Boynton are fun. However, this is among my son's favorite books.

Our one year old baby, Grace, has enjoyed this book for several months and loves it more and more each time she hears it. The illustrations are fun, each animal has a cute expression, and the rhythm of the lyrics snaps right along. "Stomp your feet, clap your hands! Everybody ready for a Barnyard Dance!" This is the opening line and from there we read about the twirls of each animal: the moos of the cows, the chirps of the birds, and their various dance steps. It's an easy book to read with lots of expression, and it's fun to make the animal sounds along with the child. We read this book dozens of times a day and it's a huge favorite!

My son Ian is now 17 months old and during his short lifetime, my wife and I have bought Ian many books for him to read and enjoy. One of Ian's alltime favorite books is Sandra Boynton's "Barnyard Dance." There are several reasons why Ian loves this particlar book. First, Ian loves Sandra Boynton's whimsical animal illustrations. To see a cow or a pig or a mouse done a la Boynton never fails to elicit a giggle from Ian. Second, the story has a nice rhyme and cadence to it. Kids seem to love a book that flows well.Finally, what Ian really likes about this book is the way Ms. Boynton has the animals dancing and prancing about. My wife taught Ian to "dance" the way the animals in the story dance and everytime we read the book, Ian always follows along by dancing and prancing just like the animals. It is priceless.

Barnyard Dance was given to my son three years ago as a baby gift and remains one of our family favorites. The square dance rhythm is exciting to hear and fun to read. The Boynton barnyard animals enjoy the dance, and so will you. Your foot will be tapping and your child will be dancing before you are finished reading. This book is now a must as part of every new baby gift we give.