Ballroom Bonanza: A Hidden Pictures ABC Book [Hardcover]

Stephen Harris (Author), Nina Rycroft (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

In this colorfully and flamboyantly illustrated large-format alphabet book, animals from around the globe have gathered for a dance contest in the world-famous Tower Ballroom. Who will win? The camels dancing the conga? The flamingos dancing flamenco? Or the penguins doing the polka? And what are those mischievous monkeys up to? Turns out they’ve stolen the band’s instruments—twenty-six in all! Once the reader finds all of them hidden within the artwork, the grand finale can begin.

Ballroom Bonanza is an ideal primer to teach children about some of the most popular styles of dance, while offering a look at musical instruments to inspire young Mozarts—all while helping teach ABCs to aspiring readers and writers.

 

Praise for the work of Nina Rycroft

Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—In this alphabet book, all sorts of animals gather in a ballroom for a competition. From alpacas to zebras, they perform different types of dances, with the yaks doing the hootchy-kootchy. The explanation for the "hidden pictures" in the subtitle—the monkeys have hidden the band's instruments—does not appear until after the zebras have done the zapateado. Nor are readers instructed about which instruments to find, save for the pictures that are featured on the endpapers, which is unfortunate for libraries that glue or tape down the dustcover. The last page has a key that lists the names of the instruments, but if readers don't know what bassoons or castanets look like, the search will be difficult. Even with the benefit of the endpapers, some of the instruments are difficult to spot in the busy, brightly colored spreads. Some of the humor in the pictures, e.g., a goat in Austin Powers regalia, is sure to be lost on the audience. Jean Marzollo's "I Spy" series (Scholastic) has more appeal.—Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

As in her earlier picture book Boom Bah! (2010), Australian illustrator Rycroft again depicts animated animals cavorting to music, here in vibrant watercolor paintings. Appearing alphabetically in a spectacular dance competition, the flamingos flamenco, the goats go-go dance, etc., all identified in lively rhymed couplets like: “Two impetuous impalas / Tango on the tabletops. An appended answer key, entitled “The Mystery of the Missing Musical Instruments,” indicates where the illustrator has hidden an instrument in each painting. Actually, this will be the first clue for many children that there are hidden objects in the pictures. Though the instruments are clearly depicted on the endpapers, some are so subtly disguised in the pictures that they’re hard to find even with the clues. Recommended for kids young enough for alphabet books, but old enough to enjoy Rycroft’s challenging visual game. Preschool-Grade 3. --Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810988429
• ISBN-13: 978-0810988422
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Vocabulary doesn't fit the intended age group, June 25, 2010

By 

Staring Girl "Staring Girl" (Thornton, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballroom Bonanza: A Hidden Pictures ABC Book (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at the library because my three year-old is learning his alphabet. I think the concept is great for this book, and the illustrations are superb, but I feel If you're going to make an alphabet book, for goodness sake, make the vocabulary basic so the children you're reading it to can actually understand it! Adjectives like `affluent, and impetuous' are going to be lost on any child at the basic level of learning what their ABC's are. I think the vocabulary could have been taken down a couple of notches, but otherwise, a fun book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book, September 24, 2010

By 

R. Brescia (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ballroom Bonanza: A Hidden Pictures ABC Book (Hardcover)

This is such a beautifully illustrated book, it makes me smile as I am turning the pages. The humorous rhyming verse keeps my daughters attention and makes it enjoyable to read (over and over!).

5.0 out of 5 stars delightful children's letter and counting book, May 27, 2010

By 

Wayne S. Walker "Home School Book Review" (Salem, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ballroom Bonanza: A Hidden Pictures ABC Book (Hardcover)

Did you know that in the famous town of Blackpool there is the Tower Ballroom where every October animals of every kind from all over the globe gather for a dancing competition? Bears dance the bolero. Flamingos do the flamenco. Penguins polka. And zebras show off the zapateado. But why does the jaguar blush? What happens to the elephants' tummies when the music stops? And who will win the prize? With concept and illustrations by Nina Rycroft and poetic text by Stephen Harris, the book provides a fun way to introduce young readers to the letters of the alphabet. In addition, the mischievous monkeys have hidden 26 musical instruments from the band, shown on the endpapers, and children will enjoy hunting for them, one on each of the pages featuring a letter of the alphabet. And what is an ugwump? Ballroom Bonanza is a delightful letter and counting book that youngsters will find fascinating.