GOT-TA Dance! Dance by Matthew Van Fleet

A teeny-tiny baby chick goes to the dance hall to get some kicks. He's got his snappy blue bowtie and he's got those hap-hap-happy feet, but he doesn't know how to use them.

"WELL, CHICKIE BABY," SAID THE RHINO AT THE DOOR.

"HOW ABOUT WE SHAKE SOME TAIL FEATHERS OUT ON THE FLOOR?"

The little chick protests that he's just hatched and has no idea how to do that. "I won't dance... Can't make me!" seems to be his song, but the rhythm-lovin' rhinos drag him out on the floor and then...

Let the lessons begin!

"FIRST THING, CHICKIE BABY, JUST WIGGLE YOUR HIPS.

SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE, SHIMMY SHIMMY, SHAKE!"

The band is swingin' and Bunny and Gator join Rhino and jump right in to teach him the Hippopota Hula, the Bouncy Bunny Hop, and the Gater Mashed Potater. Then Pig and Beaver do their share with demos of the Crazy Piggy Tap and the Busy Beaver Bop.

"CHICKIE BABY, CHICKIE BABY, GET INTO THE GROOVE!

CHICKIE BABY, CHICKIE BABY, LOOK AT HIM MOVE!"

In Matthew Van Fleet's latest interactive board book, Dance (Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2017), the youngest readers get to get in on the infectious rhythm and rhyme, thanks to the heavy-duty pull tabs that give them control of the shimmy and the shake, the rap and the tappity tap, and the hop and the bop in this toy and movable book. The irresistible rhythm of the shake-it-and-break-it narration are enough to get preschoolers eager to hit the dance floor themselves, but the editors also provide a downloadable song to form the soundtrack for kiddy audience participation. And as all good Broadway musicals do, this one ends in a grand finale--a two-page pop-up which has all the dancers on stage for a show-stopper of closing number.

This new one by the noted author-illustrator Van Fleet joins classic movement books like Sandra Boynton's Barnyard Dance! (Boynton on Board) and makes a fine Easter basket treat, better'n jelly beans, especially when paired with the go-with Dance Chickie Baby Doll plush toy.

Other interactive board books by Van Fleet include Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings, Heads, and Tails.