The New Monster Mash? Monster Boogie by Laurie Berkner

Creak!

The kids are nestled all snug in their beds, when... SOMETHING big, with horns, fangs, and claws comes through the door!

I'M THE BIGGEST MONSTER
YOU'VE EVER SEEN.
MY EYES ARE PURPLE,
AND MY TEETH ARE GREEN!

But the kids don't scream and run! They get up and DANCE!

They turn a little purple and begin to giggle, as the monster shows them how to do the Monster Wiggle!

Laurie Berkner, the famous song and dance gal for the preschool set, has an new assistant who knows how to twist and shout, in her latest dance book, Monster Boogie (Simon and Schuster, 2018). As depicted in the lively illustrations of the noted artist Ben Clanton, this monster is not exactly pretty, but he gets the tots away from their screens and moving--a good thing any day. Other books about polishing those monster moves are David Catrow's Monster Mash and Josie Bissett's Boogie Monster (read reviews here).

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.

Gotta Love It! Olivia Dances for Joy by Natalie Shaw

OLIVIA AND HER FRIENDS WERE HAVING A GREAT TIME AT GRANDMA'S DANCE CLASS.

"SHOW ME YOUR HAPPY DANCE, KIDS!" GRANDMA SAYS.

Olivia and her buddies love to lark around and step out to solo with Grandma's gregarious dancers, but their minds, especially Olivia's, was set on the upcoming Maywood Dance Contest, where the Prancer Dancers always seem to win first place. Olivia is determined that this year things are going to be different. What she has to do is to shape her troupe of casual dancers into a winning team in time for the big contest.

Olivia can just see how wonderful it would be to win! There would be paparazzi, snapping pictures of them for posters and periodicals. They will be famous!

But the Prancer Dancers are practically professional, and to win against them is going to take a super-professional effort, and Olivia frets that her group just doesn't take the whole thing seriously enough. Winning is going to take hard work!

And with only five of them, they will need three more dancers to rival the Prancers.

WHERE WILL WE FIND THREE MORE?

Olivia sets forth on an emergency talent hunt. Who does she know that can dance?

She comes up with some long shots: Fred the Mailman dances with the dogs on his route; Firefighter Fred jabs out a beat on his punching bag, and their teacher Mrs. Hoggenmuller leads a mean "Locomotion" line. But what will it take to out-dance the Prancer Dancers?

Olivia learns from Grandma that her performers do better when they dance for the joy of it.

"DON'T FORGET TO HAVE FUN!" SHE SAYS.

And the happy dancers steal the show with their joyful finale, In her new paperback edition of OLIVIA Dances for Joy (Olivia TV Tie-in) (Simon Spotlight, 2016), Natalie Shaw's funny story and illustrator Patrick Spaziante's portrayal of Olivia and her gang come to dance their hearts out in their cheery red costumes, and even little brother Ian joins the paparazzi in snapping photos of the happy winners.

Peddles by Elizabeth Rose Stanton

PEDDLES WAS JUST A PIG. HE LIVED ON A FARM, DOING THE USUAL PIG THINGS...

WALLOWING AND.... [CENSORED]. BUT PEDDLES THOUGHT ABOUT THE USUAL PIG THINGS...

DIFFERENTLY.

Peddles imagines pizza instead of swill, soaking in a sudsy tub instead of wallowing in mud puddles, and perusing the newspaper while seated on a spotless toilet!

THE OTHER PIGS SHOOK THEIR HEADS AT HIM.

But one night while Peddles is stargazing, he hears whooping and yee-haws coming from the barn. A barn dance is in progress, Cowboy boots are stomping to the beat, and Peddles just has to get in on the act. He peeps in and sees a cat fiddling away and thinks.. . a very un-porcine thought.

WHY COULDN'T HE DANCE?

He finds a pair of castoff red cowboy boots and stuffs his hind feet in them and tries to join the dance.

IT DIDN'T GO WELL.

Cowboy boots take a bit of breaking in, but Peddles gets by with a little help from his friends, in Elizabeth Rose Stanton's Peddles (Simon and Schuster, 2015), as the barnyard pigs rally behind him and join the square dancers on the floor. Yee-haw, all y'all!

Stanton's free-thinking pig is a refreshingly naive but game little hero, and "Stanton's lovely pencil and watercolor illustrations are a thing of beauty," says School Library Journal, and they truly are. Peddles is a cute, roly-poly piglet who is keen to try new things, a think-outside-the-pigpen little porker. Like the eccentric hen-with-arms in her first book, Henny, (read review here), Peddles has the innocent enthusiasm of a toddler who looks at life as the adventure it is.

Do the Web-Foot Wiggle! Duck and Goose: Let's Dance by Tad Hills

ARE YOU READY TO LEARN THE DUCK AND GOOSE DANCE?

Spring has apparently sprung. The sap is rising, and so is the energy level of young ones.

But Duck and Goose have just the thing to get those high spirits channeled into a spring dance. Rites of Spring it's not, but this poultry pair have the moves to find the right grooves.

Jumping forward and back, shaking tail feathers, goose-stepping and duck-walking, Duck and Goose have all the right moves, in Tad Hills' spring song, Duck & Goose, Let's Dance! (with an original song) (Schwartz and Wade, 2016). And don't worry about hiring the band; just follow the included link to download the happy song and dance along, with whatever moves your feet.

Hills' Duck and Goose have their first dance party, suitable for getting the wiggles out of kids before quiet time or getting some indoor exercise when spring rains shutout the games at home or school. Honking and quacking are encouraged, but optional!

Laddies and Ladies, Hare They Are! The Bunny Rabbit Show! by Sandra Boynton

WE'RE TEN TERRIFIC RABBITS

AND WE LOVE TO DANCE AND SING!

Bunnies hop on stage, and sashay through their routine.
They tap dance, high kick, twirl; then they all start to sing.

Hares can be real hams in Sandra Boynton's latest board book box office blockbuster, The Bunny Rabbit Show! (Workman Press, 2014).

With a downloadable song waiting in the wings, and a chorus line of cute cottontail chorines, all star-struck tots, whether they are hoofers, crooners, or divas, can take their turns in the spotlight, belting it out along with the cast of Boynton's rabbit revue.

So shuffle on down to Buffalo
And take your seats right in the front row.
With Boynton's All-Bunny Chorus Line,
They're bound to stop the show!

Woogie Your Boogie! The Boogie Monster by Josie Bissett

I HAVE COME FROM PLANET BOOGIE TODAY.
MY MISSION WITH YOU
TO DANCE AND PLAY.

I'VE HEARD YOU'RE A BOOGIE MONSTER LIKE ME.
YOU'VE GOT YOUR OWN MOVES??...
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE!

Who could resist that invitation! With the current interest in getting young kids moving, Josie Bissett, author of the arrestable hit, Tickle Monster, is back with a new book to gets tots' toes tapping, feet hopping, and body bouncing to the the beat, whatever your favorite beat IS! Little kids are cool to calisthenics and too young to pump iron, but they are all born to move, and Boogie Monster knows how to make the most of that urge.

Bissett's text takes the kids through a variety of movement, simulating floating, fluffy clouds or imagining ants in the pants, with free-form dance the rule of the day. As this boogie man points out, there are plenty of ways to put those muscles into motion:

THE MORE THAN YOU USE THEM,
THE STRONGER THEY'LL BE.

In her latest, Boogie Monster (Compendium, 2011), Bissett's rhyming text and Karan Atteberry's jolly illustrations can keep kids bouncing and boogying to any beat, and it's a chance for parents of preschoolers to show off their best moves as well. Fun for one or for a class, it's a good excuse to get those bodies in motion for a needed boogie break.

Available also is the Boogie Monster Dance Kit, with the book, a CD of kid-friendly dance music by Recess Monkey, and pull-on Boogie Monster leggings (fit most kids) to dress the part for a monster dance party. So get ready to shake your boogie-woogie!

Different Strokes: The Jellybeans and the Big Dance by Laura Numeroff

"Emily loved to dance."

Entering the studio for her first dance lesson, Emily can't wait to meet the other girls, who she just knows must love dancing as much as she does. But she is disappointed when she learns that Nicole is only there because her mother is making her take dancing and that she'd much rather be playing soccer. Bitsy freely offers that she prefers painting to dancing any day, and Anna, nose in book, would obviously rather keep on reading than put her book away and dance.

To make the first lesson even worse, Mrs. Tingly-Weezer, their teacher, tells them that they will soon be dancing in a recital to the tune "Oh, Little Bug!" "Icky!" scoffs Bitsy. "I'm afraid of bugs," admits Anna. "My little brother ate a bug once," volunteers Nicole.

This dance class doesn't look too promising. Dancing about a bug doesn't even appeal to Emily, and she wonders how four girls with such different personalities can ever perform together, not to mention becoming friends! Then as they put their things away in their cubbies, Emily points out that their initials spell out B.E.A.N. "I hate beans!" says Nicole. Emily begins to lose heart as the other three girls stumble through their first class. Emily knows she just has to do something to make this group work together.

A trip to Petunia's Candies gives her an idea. Emily buys a big bag of jellybeans and hands them out at their next class.

"Jellybeans are all different flavors but they still go well together," she tells the other three girls. "Maybe we could, too. We can be the dancing jellybeans."

The other girls get the jellybean spirit: Anna find books in the library about cute-looking bugs; Bitsy throws herself into designing their costumes; Nicole devises some high-kicking exercises based on her best soccer moves; and soon the Jellybeans are rehearsing with Emily leading them in her best spins and steps.

The recital is a resounding success, and the four dancing Jellybeans celebrate by making another trip to Petunia's Candies together after the performance.

Fans of the Fancy Nancy and the Angelina books will have a natural taste for the sparkly pink and lavender leotards and tutus in The Jellybeans and the Big Dance. Laura Numeroff, author of the best-selling If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...) series, and Lynn Munsinger, illustrator of the award-winning Hooway for Wodney Wat fame, join their considerable talents to craft this gentle story of sweet teamwork in the corps de ballet.