Dance by the Light of the Moon - Hardcover

Guy Francis is the illustrator ofDance by the Light of the Moonby Joanne Ryder,Mrs. McBloom, Clean Up Your Classroom!by Kelly DiPucchio,Santa's Kwanzaaby Garen Eileen Thomas, andMary Had a Little Hamby Margie Palatini. He lives with his family in Provo, Utah.

Based on the chorus of the 1844 song "Buffalo Gals," this features bouncy rhymes, energetic art, and a barn full of delightful animal characters--buffalo and more. Invitations are out for the big farm dance, and around the countryside, the gals are gussying up. Buffalo Flo has an "elegant bow." Gertie May Goose dons a "new pair of shoes." There's Cassie Sue Cat in her "flip-floppy hat," and Patty Ann Pig, donning her "prettiest wig." The moonlit gala begins as the gals join the fancied-up guys to dance to Farmer Snow's band, which includes a jug-playing frog and fiddle-playing sheep. Though short on story, this is long on charm, with the lively stanzas of the rhyming text followed by the refrain, "dance by the light of the moon." Colorful, patterned art fills in the witty details. Endpapers feature lyrics and music to the song's chorus, though full lyrics and the song's origins might have been a nice addition. A foot-tapping read. Shelle Rosenfeld
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