Advanced Children's Literature

Beaumont, Karen. BABY DANCED THE POLKA. Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. New York: Dial, 2004.

Baby Danced the Polka is an engineered book with flaps for little hands to open on every other right hand page. The book is not the typical 32 page picture story book but is substantially shorter. From the cover and throughout, the illustrations captivate with the illusion of motion. Baby dances the polka with the polka-dotted pig, the boogie woogie with the frisky little goat, the cha-cha with a brown cow. “Baby shooby-doobied with the shaggy little sheep!” Children will probably not care one iota but the book is set in Arkansas. “Papa shaved his whiskers, And Mama washed her wig.” “Papa hauled the water, And Mama fixed the chow.” Dad wears “long johns” and says he’s tuckered out by the end of the story. On more than half the pages the illusion of movement is assisted by an old fashioned “rag rug” that looks like a cinnamon roll of multi, repeating colors. It could have been homemade or ordered from Sears and Roebuck but it is a very important device in creating the illusion of circular dancing that populates the story. When Dad gets his fiddle and Mom her dancing shoes even their gray tabby cat spins around with a smile. A country cabin, a patchwork quilt palate for baby to lie on, lend authenticity to the setting. The colors are predominately lime green, purple, and blue. The story could have occurred anywhere but the Arkansas family is depicted without prejudice or stereotype, as happy, smiling, hardworking parents, who dote on their only child. Simply put, the book is delightful!