Baby Dance

by Ann Taylor, Marjorie Van Heerden (Illustrator)

Up and down, to and fro, coo and crow baby, there you go. Up to the ceiling, down to the ground, backward and forward, round and round ... All babies love to be lifted, twirled and held in loving arms. Now a rhythmic poem by nineteenth century poet Anne Taylor makes a delightful board book perfect for baby and parent to share. Marjorie van Heerden has captured the energy and joy of this playful text in vivd pastel illustrations full of the soft, gentle motion of dance.

 

For babies who are responding to music and movement, here's a playful poem that has father and child dancing lovingly across the pages.

 

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Family, Poetry, Storytime, African American

16 pages, Board Book

First published December 15, 1998

About the author

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Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the art, but weak ending.

[Cassandra L. Manna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, rhyming book that young children will like. I felt like a page was missing between the shushing of the baby and the dancing with the baby. This book may cause your toddler to want to do the baby dance, so be prepared.

Rate Procedure:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I loved the book so much I would reread it again and would recommend to a friend.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Thoroughly enjoyed the book, could not put it down, would recommend to a friend, but do not need to read again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Probably a good book that I enjoyed but there was something about it I did not love (e.g. The writing style, the POV, etc.). I would only recommend to a friend if it was their "type" of book.
⭐️⭐️ - A book I have below average feelings for and it would not come with a recommendation from me but I would mention it in conversation if related to the book topic at issue.
⭐️ - I finished the book but I hated every second of it.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father dances with baby, while mother rests on the couch.

One of the few books that have appealed to me while I try to develop a baby time.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

When my son was tiny it was very important to me to have positive representations of all sorts of people and families on his bookshelf. This lovely board book was one of my favorites, a beautiful little story about a black father playing with his daughter while Mama naps. It was also a big hit with my little, a book he pulled off the shelves over and over for several years.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of energy, motion, and emotion.

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A variation of the song Hush Little Baby, Don't You Cry and it's very cute. Daddy is trying to quietly sing to and entertain baby so Mommy can have a rest on the couch. I think it perfectly captures how active many father's interactions are with their kids, part of the words are, "Up to the ceiling, down to the ground. Backward, forward, 'round and 'round." Overall a great little book.

I feel like this one is like a triple score because not only does it have diversity (somewhat hard to find) but it has a dad in the story (somewhat hard to find in toddler books) and, not only that, it's an African American dad (which is, unfortunately very hard to find).

[Bethel Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations alone would sell me on this book; I absolutely love how expressive the faces are and how you really feel the movement of the lyrics in the artwork. This is a fun one to sing (or read) and watch as baby's body language progresses from, "I'm not so sure about this, Daddy..." to sheer delight in the daddy/daughter dance. Lovely and a great complement to any nursery collection.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful bold colours and rhyming text make this one a delicious read aloud!

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me and my daughter really loved the illustrations

[Princess Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun sing-songy movement book!

[Eva_Amaré · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sing songy type book with gorgeous colours. We had so much fun swirling around dancing with mama and singing a book. 🎶 🎶

[Rosalind Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giggled

[Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

My baby loves this one before bed!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short rhyming book about a baby who is comforted by her Daddy, and then they dance. My toddler started saying the phrase "Mama's nearby" after we read this book a few times.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect little baby movement book.

[Rachel Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The text was weak.

[Lisa Medeiros · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the artistry depicts the baby girl's mood change from page to page.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and full of movement and expression. This would be a fun one on one read with a little, doing the movements.

[Maeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A baby and a father dance around the house together.

Lovely illustrations and a sweet sentiment.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book about a father dancing with his baby. It's great to sing it to "Hush, Little Baby."

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our local library has a nice selection of board books in each reach for young children to pick from. I love seeing what Harriet will choose when we go for our weekly trip to the library. Among her recent picks is Baby Dance from a poem by Ann Taylor (1782-1866) and illustrated by Marjorie van Heerden.

For the book, the poem has been oddly edited to remove the mother from the story. She's still shown as part of the family but the moment of playful dance between mother and baby moves to a father and baby instead.

The father and baby are clearly happy and it's nice to expose Harriet to families of different backgrounds than her own. It's refreshing to see people in a board book about families instead of the usual collection of overly cute animals.

What does bother me though is the choice to edit the poem. Fathers have certainly gotten short shrift in books aimed at young children. Unfortunately for this book, a perfectly delightful (albeit old) poem has its rhyme and meter slaughtered to bring a father to the foreground. Why not hire a living poet to write an update in homage to Ann Taylor's poem?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Dance, by Ann Taylor, is a story about a father and his loving relationship with his daughter. This books is rhythmic, to be read to the rhythm of the song, "hush little baby". The book is about a father who comforts his daughter while her mother naps on the couch. This book is refreshing, because often times it is hard to find books which feature black families, that represent a two-parent household. It is incredibly hard to find children's books that depict black men in a positive light.

This book is appropriate for babies through the pre-kindergarten stage. The children can be introduced to poems, songs and rhyming words. It also shows them the composition of family and the different ways families can interact.

The author Ann Taylor's expertise in poetry and song writing is prevalent in the story. (Random fact: Ann Taylor's sister wrote the famous song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book delightful, as did my 6-year-old daughter who picked it up when she saw it, quietly read it then said “I really like this book, Mommy.” Having read a visually similar book when my daughter was younger, “More More More Said the Baby,” I think that any child from 0 to 6 would like it. It is perfect for infants and up with the wonderful colors, short words and wording and joyful faces in each picture.

All of the reviews that I read were helpful (Kirkus, School Library Journal). I especially liked the descriptions of the color in the Kirkus Review:

Van Heerden's judicious use of background colors subtly reflect the increasing tempo, as soothing blues gradually intensify into vibrant swirls of orange, yellow, and purple.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Dance invites the reader to join in the rhythmic exchange between an African-American father and daughter as he tries to soothe the child so her crying won’t wake mommy. Their boisterousness and excitement increases as they dance and wake up mommy nonetheless. The story is short in length and perfect for babies and toddlers. The book presents song and rhyme schemes that make the storyline easily accessible to its intended audience. The illustrations mirror the movement and excitement of the baby and her father as they are singing and dancing. The backgrounds brighten as the child and father’s playful movements intensify.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inordinate number of children's books that I find feature interaction between a mother and child with the father absent. So it was a welcome change of pace, and the reason why I bought this book which reads to the rhythm of "hush little baby don't say a word, daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird", to obtain one that focuses on a father-daughter bond. The mother isn't missing from the story, simply napping on the couch for most of it, but it was nice to see a daddy in the spotlight getting his due. This short and sweet book elicits a smile from the first page that lasts to the end.

[Libby]

When a child is having fun, the possibility of real learning and connection can occur. The book Baby Dance is a picture book appropriate for children 0-12 months old promotes a child’s print motivation and narrative skills. As the caregiver reads or talks to the child about the reading, the caregiver can also interact with the baby by moving, rocking or dancing. This book’s repetitive and rhyming text supports the practices of reading, talking and playing as the caregiver responds to the baby’s babbling and use of sounds to communicate.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this one is really cheating. I only heard a couple lines of it during story time. But I did like that it is a singing book of that "Hush Little Baby" song that I never know the words to. And, I liked how the librarian pointed out how the background colors change as the baby's mood lightens.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read this to the tune of "Hush Little Baby" but I think I'll change it up next time to make it more dance-y. This is a super cute book about daddy taking his baby dancing up and down and all around and a lullabye tune just isn't going to cut it.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great colors and face expressions of the characters. I can sing the "Mockingbird" tune to this story and my little children love to look at the pictures as I read and sing this book to them and move them up and down and back and forth along with the story.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute father/daughter book about spending a little bit of special time together while mommy takes a nap. Lots of action and song: "...up to the ceiling, down to the ground..." Great for reading or acting out and singing.