Karen Ackerman

The grandchildren love visiting their Grandpa, who regales them with stories of when he was a “song and dance man” in Vaudeville. Sometimes he takes them up to the attic, where he has an old banjo and a trunk full of props: hats, feathers, a cane, vests, magic tricks, and, most importantly, his shiny tap shoes. And then he performs for them, singing and dancing and doing magic tricks that delight them all.

This is just a lovely story of multi-generational relationships. We learn a little show more bit about Vaudeville, and experience the joy of sharing our stories.

Stephen Gammell’s illustrations won the Caldecott Medal. I particularly love the expressions on the faces of the children and Grandpa – they are full of joy and love for one another. show less

A trio of children go to visit their grandfather, who was a vaudeville performer in his youth. Their grandfather laments the passing of the "song and dance" days, but he still pulls out all his old vaudeville gear and puts on a one man variety show for his grandchildren. The children are genuinely delighted by their grandfather's performance, and he is equally pleased to be able to share a piece of his personal history with his descendants. Though this story has a sort of melancholy show more nostalgia to it, I think that ultimately what the grandfather was missing was performing for an audience, so that in addition to passing along memories of his performance to his grandchildren, he was also able to realize that he didn't necessarily miss performing for a large audience, just a grateful one. show less

Summary:
Song and Dance Man is the story of a grandfather who used to be an entertainer (song and dance man) in his younger years on the vaudeville stage. When his three grandchildren come to visit, he turns off the television and takes them on an adventure in the attic. He opens up all of his old dusty trunks and breaks out his old dancing shoes, top hats and vests. The children play dress up with his old clothes while he performs his old tricks, dances and music on a make believe center show more stage. He pretends he’s back in the ‘good old days’ when he once was the song and dance man of his time. He gives the children a fun and light hearted performance and then packs everything back away for next time. The story finally ends with the grandfather giving his grandchildren a big hug and telling them he wouldn’t trade those ‘good old days’ for the days he gets to spend with them.

Comments (arguments/opinions):
This Caldecott Medal winner truly is a great story about the love family can have for one another. It’s such a great story that shows children how inspiring and wonderful their grandparents can be. I feel like a lot of the time children don’t realize that their grandparents have lived through and experienced so much and that they truly are amazing people. With its brightly colorful and extremely active illustrations, this book can make any child feel happy and warm hearted. I really liked this book because it’s fun and shows how truly amazing the relationships between grandchildren and their grandparents can be. I think it also opens a lot of doors for children to want to explore their grandparent’s lives more. After seeing that the grandfather, who is first portrayed sitting in front of the television, was actually once a great performer, might motivate children to ask their grandparents what they used to be when they were younger. I think this book can open doorways for family relationships to grow closer and become more meaningful. I also think children will be captivated by the wonderfully bright illustrations and exciting movement that is detailed throughout this story. show less

Song and Dance Man is a story about a grandfather trying to teach his three young grandchildren about the "good old days." The story begins with the grandfather telling his grandchildren that back in the day they had better entertainment then just watching TV. So the grandfather takes his grandchildren to the basement which is filled with all of the grandfather's old props and costumes from when he use to perform on the Vaudeville stage. I think the book is a cute story that shows the show more realistic relationship between a grandparent and grand kids. It is relate able for children to read because most kids have grandparents that tell them all about the stuff in the past, and the things they have experienced. I think this book also provides a good teaching moment for a teacher to teach students about Vaudeville and the entertainment it provided back then. The illustrations in the book were very colorful and engaging that it catches your eyes while reading. Overall I really enjoyed the book and think that children will like it too. show less