by Tad Hills
original song by Lauren Savage and Ross Gruet
Schwartz & Wade Books, 2016
Anyone who has ever read stories to a group of young children knows that it's best to plan time for some movement every now and then in between asking the kids to sit still and listen. Duck & Goose: Let's Dance combines a simple picture book story with teaching the “Duck and Goose Dance.” The simple body movements will be easy enough for the youngest toddlers to accomplish and children of all ages will enjoy watching Duck, Goose, and their bird friends jump, quack, shake their bodies, walk like a duck, and move their tails in simple and colorful illustrations.
The dance party ends by inviting children to create their own dance moves and an afterward includes the music and lyrics for the “Duck & Goose Song”(which can also be heard online at duckandgoosesong.com). Surprisingly, the lyrics to the song are actually longer than the text of the book (which primarily focuses on the song's chorus) and provide a little more story that might have been fun to include in the book as well. But the board book combined with the music, lyrics, and online recording are sure to keep pre-readers and their parents or caregivers reading, moving, and having fun.
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Tad Hills is the author and illustrator of the highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling picture books Duck & Goose; Duck, Duck, Goose; Duck & Goose Go to the Beach; How Rocket Learned to Read; and Rocket Writes a Story. Tad lives in Brooklyn with his wife, their two children, and a dog named Rocket. Visit the author online at tadhills.com.
Lauren Savage and Ross Gruet are siblings who grew up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and now write music together from opposite ends of the country. Lauren is the owner and creator of The Reading Bug, a children’s bookstore in San Carlos, California. She graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a BFA in musical theater and has performed in many Off-Broadway and regional musicals, as well as in some film and TV productions. She lives outside San Francisco with her husband and two young daughters, who love to dance and sing. Ross is a multi-instrumentalist and graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Business and Management. He has toured and recorded in a variety of major- and indie-label bands, playing guitar and piano and singing. He is a project manager for Yep Roc Records and lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife.
