Barn Dance! by Pat Hutchins

I have always enjoyed being around farm animals and now I know why--they like to dance! Sometimes that's all there is to do--dance the night away.

The barn in this story is alive with the rhythms of a dancing horse, sheep, and pig. These adults dance until they can dance no more and "go to sleep in the hay where their little ones lay."

Of course there are a lot of fun rhyming coupled with expressive illustrations. Looking carefully, you can see that the little ones aren't as tired as they may seem--perhaps it is their turn to dance in the moonlight? The illustrations have an oldtime charm to them reminisant of art I've seen in books my parents had when they were young. There is a sweet illustration that shows the adult animals snuggled in the hay while the kids sneak out to dance--very sneaky!

This fun story would be great to read aloud with kids--it is fun and goofy. The idea that farm animals are dancing all night long would be amusing to many kids--they could maybe even write a sequel about the little ones and their nighttime adventures.