The All-American Jump & Jive Jigby M.P.Hueston
Illustrated by Amanda Haley
Copyright 2010
Sterling Kids
Up in Maine is where we will discover our first bop.
Sam and Shane will show us how to do the Rockland Sock-Hop.
Take your shoes off, don't be shy. Put on your favorite socks.
Hop up and down and all around, watch out for toys and blocks.
Summary: "All across the country, children are jumping and jiving to their own unique dances, be it the Rockland Sock Hop from Maine, the Lubbock Line Dance from Texas, or the Hilo Hula from Hawaii."
The All-American Jump & Jive Jig is a rhyming book about children celebrating a country-wide happy dance. I finally got an opportunity to read this book -- one of many I've received from Sterling Kids in the past year -- to a child!!! Excitement! I read The All-American Jump & Jive Jig to my 6-year-old niece, Lauren. What I loved best about the book is the fact that there are maps of the U.S. inside the covers (the states are not labeled and the illustration is not wholly accurate, but it still serves the purpose), so you can use the book as an informal geography lesson. Lauren was most curious about where her home state, Colorado, fell on the map. I pointed that out, as well as various states where the dance rhymes took place and, of course, the state in which I live: Mississippi.
Lauren said the book was "a little silly" but I think she meant it in a good way. Even better, the boyfriend of one of my older nieces saw the book sitting on a table and sat down to read it.
How cute is that? "Apparently," he said, when asked what he was reading, "there's a dance party going on all across the country." I hope he doesn't mind that I've shared this photo.
Bottom line:
A fun, rhyming book with lively watercolor illustrations that show happy children dancing in various locations across the United States. Fun for kids and grown-ups. Fortunately, my niece didn't ask me to get up and dance. But, with my own children, I probably would have put the rhymes to music and danced around the room. We were funny that way.
The All-American Jump and Jive Jig is excellent for holiday reading (like the 4th of July -- oops, just missed that one), but I'd read it any old time. It's not holiday-specific.
Other books dropped off:
After reading The All-American Jump and Jive Jig to Lauren, I left it with her. I also gave the little ones my copy of That Cat Can't Stay (so I'll have to buy another one, but obviously a 4-year-old and 6-year-old need it more than I do) and The Secret Lives of Princesses, which pretty much every female took turns perusing. The consensus was that The Secret Lives of Princesses is beautiful (but quirky) and really a book that you grow into and can read for years. Youngest niece Lucia was happy to flip through it and look at the illustrations. Lauren and I read bits and pieces. The older nieces and my mother-in-law also seemed to find it fascinating.
What else is new?
Not much. Fiona has graduated from biting cardboard boxes to chewing up chunks of those boxes and swallowing them. Eeks. She's getting a chance to experience the squirt bottle, poor baby. I just can't see chewing cardboard as a good thing. I have a few photos of her being naughty, which I may share in an upcoming Fiona Friday post.
I am just about to finish Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Carter. I love the Gallagher Girls spy series. It's fun, light and adventurous.
Are you reading anything wonderful?
This sounds like a great book! I'll add it to the ones to check out from the library. :)
ReplyDeleteThis one sounds adorable! And use that squirt bottle well. Now if I could figure out how to get Daisy dog to stop eating socks.
ReplyDeleteKrista,
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun book. I hope your kiddo likes it. :)
Andi,
I really just need to carry the darned squirt bottle with me, wherever I go. Fiona can be a real nuisance. It's a good think I like her so much! Socks, eh? That seems a little worse than cardboard boxes, actually.
How cute! The picture of the boyfriend reading, I mean. ;)
ReplyDeleteAh, let's hope Miss Fiona stays away from your books! I remember using a squirt bottle on Frankie-the-evil/feral-cat. Good luck!
Les,
ReplyDeleteIsn't that adorable?
So far, Fiona's stayed away from books, although there have been moments I was sure she was pondering. She's really a sweet-tempered kitty with a lot of energy. I'm sure she'll grow out of the cardboard chewing with a little help from Ye Olde Squirte Bottle.
My cat's always been more of a plastic kind of guy. Give him a trash bag or a discarded plastic wrapper, and he's got it made. To each their own, I guess. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteFiona likes jumping on plastic sacks for the joyous crinkly noises. And, she likes attacking rubber bands. She is also a very fine bug killer. But, chewing cardboard seems to be one of her favorite activities, lately. That and jingle-ball chase. I much prefer jingle-ball chase, although it wears me to a frazzle.
Cats are just too fun, aren't they? :)
We just read The All American Jump and Jive Jig this week, too. Such a cute, fun book!
ReplyDeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun? I wish I could be a little less inhibited with lots of people around. Seriously, we would have been dancing around the room if it was just the two of us reading. LOL