Song and Dance Man

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 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 show more performing for a large audience, just a grateful one. show less

There are many reasons I liked this book. First, The main character, The Song and Dance Man, is well developed, believable, motivating, and passionate. He brings his grandchildren back to his favorite of times- the song and dance years, where he pulls out all of his best moves, wearing tops hats, tap shoes, a golden cane and vests. His passion for preforming is evident in the show he puts on for his grandchildren. I found his an easy character to relate some of my family members to. Secondly, I enjoyed the plot for it's simplicity. The events that occur within the story are organized and there is little to no conflict, which makes this a great, lighthearted read. The main undertone of this book is how to stay young at heart.

This 1989 Caldecott medal book is a sheer delight.

When his grandchildren visit, they prod their grandfather to go into the attic and find his shoes, hat and cane and to put on a show.

As a vaudeville tap dancer, grandpa has many wonderful memories.

Captivating the children, who respectfully sit and watch the lovely show, all deserve a round of applause -- the children for loving their grandpa so much that they are interested in his previous life, and good ole grandpa who dims the lights, dons the top hat and clicks his way into a special place in their hearts.

In my opinion this is a good book. I liked this book because the characters were very believable. I feel as if many children could relate to the children in the story and what they're going through. I also liked the plot of this book. Although there wasn't a major problem or a lot of suspense in the story, it still flowed very well and kept me engaged. I liked that there was humor involved because it made me want to keep turning the pages and read more. The big message in the story is to enjoy the time spent with your family, especially your elders.

I loved this book, I especially liked how well the characters were described and developed, most specifically the grandfather. For example, "We forget that it's Grandpa dancing, and all we can hear is the silvery tap of two feet, and all we can see is a song and dance man gliding across a vaudeville stage," the words and pictures really showed how much the grandfather loved song and dance as well as how much he loved his grandchildren and making them smile. I also really liked the language in this book. The writing was clear and everything was very descriptive and used a lot of similes and metaphors. For example, "His voice is as round and strong as a canyon echo, and his cheeks get rose as he sings, "Yankee Doodle Boy,"" which made the show more book really enjoyable. I think the main idea of this story was the relationship and love between family members. show less

I personally loved this book for the illustration usage throughout the story and the development of the grandpa character in this story. Told from the grandchildren's point of view, the text is extremely charming and demonstrates a true admiration for the older generation. The soft, colored-pencil drawings explode with affection and nostalgia across each page and do the grandpa's exciting youth justice with the slashes of color and bold gestures in each drawing.This story is sure to enlarge the most devout television-watcher's idea of entertainment to think more about they types of experiences they will want to look back on and feel satisfaction for a life well lived. The overall message of the story, you're only as old as you allow show more yourself to feel, can hit home for readers of any age to take advantage of the opportunities life allows you to grasp. show less

This Caldecott Winner is about an old man who was once a vaudeville performer and enjoys entertaining his grandchildren. On their visit, he takes them to the attic and shows them an old trunk full of costumes and tap shoes. He tries them on and puts on a show which delights the children. After he finishes, the children clap and beg for more. They wonder if he misses the old days when he was on the stage.

With this story, I was reminded of the days when I would sit on my grandfather's lap and listen to the colorful stories of when he was younger. I can remember watching him sing and dance. I believe the author uses this story to touch the reader and the listener alike.

The story could be used to introduce children to different eras in the show more history of the American entertainment industry. They could even put on a vaudeville show of their own. Another way to use this story would be to open a discussion about the value of the older generation and how they could ask their grandparents to tell them stories of when they were young. show less