Barnyard Dance

Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton is one of my favorite upbeat books for babies.

When people talk about rhyme and rhythm, they often get the two terms mixed up. But these literary elements are two very different things. Rhyme is when the endings of words have similar sounds, as in "sun" and "fun." Many kids books rhyme. But not all books have rhythm. Rhythm is the musical flow of the book. When a book has a definite pattern, bounce, lilt to it, it has rhythm. And Barnyard Dance has rhythm!

I dare you to read this book and not fall into a square dance kind of rhythm in your voice. It isn't possible. Go ahead and read this book out loud to a little kid. You can't help but be caught up in the dance!