About This Book

In an old farmhouse, bathed in the light of a full moon, a young boy creeps to his bedroom window and looks outside. Was that a voice he just heard, or the hooting of an owl? There it is again:

Come a little closer...
Come a little closer...
Listen to the night...
There's music in the air...

Beckoned by the voice, the boy sneaks downstairs, out the door, and walks toward the barn. As he gets closer he hears the sweet sound of a country fiddler and the rhythmic thumping of dancing feet. But who could possibly be having a barn dance in the middle of the night?

With their marvelous ear for dialect, Bill Martin and John Archambault perfectly capture the bouncing cadence of a square dance caller. Ted Rand's luminous paintings are filled with a special warmth and telling details that reveal his love of country life.

Praise for Barn Dance!

"A rousing, rowdy tale pulsing with the rhythm of country music... The bouncy rhyme will be a pleasure for listeners and tellers as they pick up the twang and the barn-dance beat." — Booklist

A Reading Rainbow Selection

About the Authors or Illustrators

Bill Martin Jr.

Bill Martin Jr. couldn't read print until he was in college, but his beloved elementary school teacher, Miss Davis, read to him every day. Martin has worked as a teacher, a school principal, a textbook editor, and a writer. He wrote Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? while traveling on a Long Island Railroad train.

Read more >