Dance, Dance, Dance!

February 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-Not even a lack of music or a dubious friend can dampen Horse's drive to dance. Buggy's skeptical, "What are you doing?" and "I do not hear any music" does not deter Horse. He just gleefully bends, grooves, and kicks, proclaiming, "I am dancing. I am the best dancer. I have the best dances. Dance with me!" Buggy finally busts a move, Horse finds a boom box, and just as they are really "getting down," Horse decides to take a much needed break. VERDICT With Long's characteristic slapstick humor and simple, expressive characters, this newest pairing is pitch-perfect for his audience...no dance beat required.-Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2018
From the opening panels it is clear that this is not a quiet reading book. Much to Buggy's chagrin, Horse loves to dance! The rubber-legged horse hops, leaps, twists, break-dances, and pirouettes across the pages. There's even a John Travolta pose--all before the title page. But, hearing no music, Buggy insists, "You are just moving around." In a sweet twist, Horse sympathetically declares, "I am not happy. Because you are not happy." The problem is resolved with humor and compassion. Horse supplies music they can both hear. Then they both dance. Long uses fewer than 50 different words, many repeatedly, to tell this engaging story. "Dance," "can," and "can't" are on almost every spread, ensuring new readers' success. Hints to the meanings of more-challenging words are included in the pictures. The text consists entirely of Horse and Buggy's conversation. Who is speaking is made clear by placing their simple declarative sentences in blocks of white with an arrow pointing at the speaker. The friends are cartoonish characters drawn in shades of gray with expressive round eyes; Horse's are lashless, while Buggy's sport three long lashes apiece, suggesting gender. These uncluttered and somewhat silly illustrations against solid blocks of teal, purple, orange, and green match the text perfectly. As Horse says, "turn off the frown. Start getting down!" Beginning readers--get up, dance, and read! (Early reader. 4-8)

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January 1, 2019
Horse loves to dance, even without music; Buggy, a small bug, does not. But when Horse challenges Buggy to dance and then pumps some tunes ("What a fun song!"), Buggy and Horse boogie down until Horse tires out. Horse and Buggy's back-and-forth dialogue is simple and funny, as are the cartoon illustrations, which depict Horse doing the tango, the Charleston, the robot, and more on brightly colored backgrounds.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)