The sounds of the farm animals create a lively beat that keeps Farmer Sue, the chicks, sheep, and other farm animals awake. - (Baker & Taylor)
The sounds of the farm animals create a lively beat that keeps Farmer Sue, the chicks, sheep, and other farm animals awake. On board pages. - (Baker & Taylor)
The nighttime antics of toe-tapping, happily dancing sheep, cows and pigs result in the emission of raucous animal noises that eventually awaken Farmer Sue, in a board book rendition of a story illustrated by the creator of the Emmy Award-winning Arthur series. - (Baker & Taylor)
Author Lindsey Craig teams up with Arthur creator and bestselling artist Marc Brown in a toe-tapping farmyard dance-a-thon—perfect for toddler and preschooler read-alouds. As soon as the sun goes down, the animals are up! ("Sheep can't sleep. Sheep can't sleep. Sheep can't sleep 'cause they got that beat!") Before long, there's a giant farmyard dance party, complete with funny animal sounds. But what happens when all the racket wakes up Farmer Sue? Here's a colorful bedtime story that begs to be read aloud. - (Random House, Inc.)
LINDSEY CRAIG lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with her family. Her first book with Marc Brown, Dancing Feet!, is also available from Knopf.
About the Illustrator
MARC BROWN is the creator of Arthur, the star of many picture books and a six-time Emmy Award-winning PBS TV show. He is also the illustrator of the New York Times bestsellers Wild About Books and Born to Read by Judy Sierra, as well as their upcoming collaboration, Zoozical. - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
"Chicks can't sleep / 'cause they got that beat! / Peep! Peep! Peep-peep-peep! . . . All that peeping wakes up Sheep!" The repetition, rhythm, and sounds of the words are a big part of the fun in this picture book and will have toddlers chanting the animal sounds, joining in the dancing action, and pointing at the farmyard chaos illustrated in the large, bright, hand-painted paper collage artwork. "Swish! Clank! Swish-swish! Clank! All that racket wakes up / Hank!" Kids will love to hear the noisy words over and over again, especially when they look closely and discover the playful details in the packed pictures. Although this may be the opposite of a lullaby, the wry ending, with the picture of the animal crowd all cuddled up together ("Everyone's dancing to that beat 'till . . . they fall in a heap! / Asleep!"), is as cozy as it gets. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Craig and Brown are again in playful sync in this rhythmic companion to Dancing Feet! (2010). Reviving the cut-paper collage style he debuted in that book, Brown demonstrates that he's mastered the medium. Hand-painted papers cut into basic geometric shapes create animals and scenes composed of a boldly contrasting amalgam of textures and patterns; his palette incorporates soft pastels, earth tones, and primary colors set against deeply hued, striped backdrops. Using bouncy repetition, Craig explains that farm animals are too busy dancing to sleep: "Chicks can't sleep./ Chicks can't sleep./ Chicks can't sleep 'cause they got that beat!" Each species has its own beat and rhyme scheme, which usually relates to the sound the animal makes, and also leads into whatever animal is next seen busting a move ("Puuurrrr! Mee-ooow!/ Puuurrrr! Mee-ooow!/ All that racket wakes up... Cow!"). Although all the animals (as well as pigtailed Farmer Sue, who comes out to investigate all the noise) eventually "fall in a heap! Asleep!" the emphasis rests squarely on the joy of exuberant, slightly mischievous dancing. A calming bedtime book this is not. Ages 1–4. (June)
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School Library Journal Reviews
PreS-K—Craig and Brown, creators of Dancing Feet! (Knopf, 2010), have produced another toe-tapper starring a cast of jubilant farm animals. The creatures can't sleep because "they got that beat." The chicks begin the party, waking the sheep. Soon the cat, cows, and dog join in on the fun. The residents of the farmyard make quite a racket. "Peep! Peep! Peep-peep-peep!" chirp the chicks. "Puuurrrr! Mee-ooow!" says the cat, while Hank, the dog, "How—wooooo!'s" and the cows "Swish!" and "Clank!" as they frolic. When the owl gives a warning, the dancers suspend the festivities for a breathless moment and Sue, the young farmer, approaches. Luckily, she can't resist the beat, and everyone dances until "they fall in a heap! Asleep!" Brown's cheerful collage illustrations enliven the rhyming verse. Each spread features a variety of shapes, textures, and patterns. The smiling characters, constructed from geometric shapes of hand-painted paper, cavort over the verdant lawn against a shadowy background of deep blue stripes. Pair this syncopated title with another comical barnyard story, Doreen Cronin's Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (S & S, 2000), for a fun-filled bedtime storyhour.—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA
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