Module 3: Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman and Stephen Gammell

Module 3: Caldecott Winners

Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman

Illustrated by Stephen Gammell

Ackerman, K. & Gammell, S. (1988). Song and Dance Man. New York, NY: Knopf.

Plot Summary:
Song and Dance Man follows three children during their visit with their grandfather. The children's grandfather used to be a son and dance man on the vaudeville stage. During the visit, he reminisces about the good old days before television when people sang and danced. While waiting for supper, Grandpa gets out his old trunk of things in the attic. It is filled with his tap shoes, hats, vests and bow ties. The children play in Grandpa's old things and pretend to be on the vaudeville stage themselves. After he is set up, the children settle down and watch Grandpa perform. He taps his tap shoes and glides across the room. Grandpa does tricks and tells jokes to entertain the children. He finishes off the performance with tap dancing. The children can see the joy that singing and dancing brings to their Grandpa because he was a song and dance man. 

Impressions:

Song and Dance Man has wonderful drawings. You can see each stroke that Gammell has artful placed on the page to bring the story to life. Both colorful and intricate, the illustrations are what makes the story. Although the background is not drawn out on each pages, Gammell fills in the blank space with color and shadows. 

Reviews:

Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman | Kirkus Reviews. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/karen-ackerman-2/song-and-dance-man/

"Gammell's colors illuminate the uncommon joy of these homely folks and capture the ghostly images of Grandpa's membories as well as the ebullience he conveys to the children. A warm portrait of a grand old man at peace with his past." 

Banta, G. (1989, January 1) Song and Dance Man. In School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://bookverdict.com/details.xqy?uri=Product-2883598.xml.

"The spirit of song and dance are reflected in the careful placement of drawings and text; five times they stretch voluminously across double-page spreads, although the text is always legible. It is also poetic at times. The accurate depiction of old age and the magic of the theater rhythmically combine like a dance with a solid beginning, middle, and end. It offers enchantment for children and for the person of any age who reads it to them."

Library Use Suggestions: 

This would make an great display of children's books or illustrated books. The illustrations are very capturing and would definitely draw people in. In addition, it could be used as an example in an art workshop over the importance of color. Gammell uses color in a variety of way that jumps out at you without distracting.