Hutchins, Pat. Barn Dance. Illustrated by Pat Hutchins. Greenwillow, 2007. ISBN 9780060891220. $17.89. 32 p.
Reviewer: Marsha D. Broadway
Reading Level: Toddler
Rating: Significant shortcomings
Genre: Animal stories;
Subject: Domestic animals--Juvenile literature; Dance parties--Juvenile fiction; Books--Reviews;
With their little ones asleep, Horse, Pig, and Sheep are ready to dance instead of sleep on a bright, full-moon night. They cover the barn's cobblestone floor with hay to muffle the sound of their hooves and begin to dance. Horse pounds the stones so hard that sparkles ignite a fire that must be doused. Exhausted from her efforts, she retires to the hay to join her colt. Sheep bounces into her dance and gets caught in the rafters. Pig piles hay for Sheep to land on. Exhausted Sheep joins her lamb in the hay. Pig begins her jig only to slip on the stones and fall in the water trough. Exhausted Pig joins her little one in the hay. While the mothers sleep, the little ones wake and dance till daybreak when they return to the barn to sleep. Bright--almost garish--gouache illustrations decorate a simple story. The light source is represented by a white background that is jarring in a nighttime setting. Shadows reveal the cobblestone floor. Some of the pig's spots, which could be mud, appear oddly heart-shaped or bean-like. The story is uninteresting and the illustrations distracting. Another copy of Rosie's Walk will be more enjoyed and better used in a library setting. Do-se-do passed this Barn Dance.
Volume 28, no. 3 (Jan/Feb 2008)
