Recently, Carrie posted a review on three Picture Books for America’s Birthday, and along those lines, I’d like to add one additional new selection to add to the lists of books that are good to read around our nation’s upcoming celebratory day. The All-American Jump and Jive Jig, by M.P. Hueston, has a title that alone is fun enough, and has proven, at least in my family, to be a fun and active read!
Starting in the north east of the U.S., lively children are moving and grooving as they introduce dances that represent their parts of the country- from Massachusetts’ “Boston Tea Party” (which of course, has the dancer imitating a tea kettle!), to the Lone Star State’s “Lubbock Line Dance” (complete with cowboy hats and colorful boots), to Oregon’s “Portland Pogo Stick” (a good dance to do when trying to reach the stars), to the “Juneau Jitterbug” of Alaska (performed by children bundled up in the snow). With eleven more stops in this journey across our nation, there’s sure to be a nearby interest for many readers.
Even the squiggly lines of the pencil drawings and the vibrancy of the watercolor illustrations give the feeling of movement, perfectly depicting a slew of happy children getting down and boogieing.
For a book all about dance, it should come as no surprise to know that there is a rhythm to this rhyming book that makes it super fun to read aloud, and children will surely want to give these dances a whirl themselves as you read along. My kids and I will happily be doing our own jumping and jiving this July 4th to The All-American Jump and Jive Jig.
Dancing may be a relic of her youth, but Dawn’s passion for reading has never faded. Her blog, my thoughts exactly, is a mix of all her interests- from kids to books to NPR.
This book looks SUPER cute!