Dancin' in the Kitchen [Hardcover]

Wendy Gelsanliter (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Dinner time is dancing time at Grandma's house. While chicken and dumplings simmer on the stove, all three generations of the family have a hard time keeping still, grooving to the music on the kitchen radio. Their dancing creates some mighty big appetites, but will the merriment let up long enough for everyone to make it to the table? Lively verse and playful illustrations by Caldecott Honor-winner Marjorie Priceman celebrate a family night to remember.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers will want to grab a wooden spoon and join the culinary conga line in this snazzy picture book. Dinnertime at Grandma's house is no staid affair. Anyone near the kitchen at six o'clock is pressed into duty. But work becomes play as the radio blasts music and all the cooks (adults, children and even the cat) begin to cut a rug. Before long the table is set with a feast of chicken and dumplings, green beans, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. First-time picture book authors Gelsanliter and Christian give new meaning to the phrase "shake and bake" with jaunty language and an infectious feel-good theme. Originally composed as song lyrics, the text features some catchy verses: "Dancin' in the kitchen/ Everyone's a chef/ But if the baby gets the shortcake/ Then there won't be any left!" But without the benefit of music, it is occasionally difficult to tell where the emphasis lies, and a few lines do not scan smoothly. Priceman (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin!) clearly relishes her subject matter and employs an exuberant menu of media, including paint, crayon and collage in her bursting-with-energy compositions. Characters swirl and sway across color-drenched backgrounds and Priceman offers a perspective from every angle of the kitchen, including a cat's eye-view. All in all, highly appetizing fare. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-What began as a recorded song lacks substance and flair when translated to the printed page. Basically, Mama, Papa, Sis, Brother, baby, Grandpa, and Grandma strut through the picture-book pages to the music on the radio from dinner preparation through dessert and cleanup. The text, a series of rhymed verses, one quatrain to a double-page spread, seems to be on parade as well. It tilts and sways along with the figures, but the rhymes, sometimes forced and awkwardly scanned, jar the ear. Priceman's illustrations, slightly reminiscent of the forms in her successful Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin (S & S, 1995) have vitality and pizzazz. They bleed off the page in bold, dramatic swipes of color but there's a garishness that jars the eye. Sit this one out.
Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (September 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399230351
• ISBN-13: 978-0399230356
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dancin' in the Kitchen is a tasty treat!, December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dancin' in the Kitchen (Hardcover)

Gelsanliter and Christian have created a wonderfully playful book that kids will eat up. Every time I read it to our kids, their eyes light up as the the sing-song story pulls the reader through fabulous illustrations. The artist who decorated the book has a fauvist, Matisse-like style that engergizes the written words. I anxiously await the next course!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book! A new favorite that always begs to be read again, February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dancin' in the Kitchen (Hardcover)

This has become a new favorite in our house. Everyone loves to point out the funny goings on, giggle over them and then try to imitate the dancin' in the book. We now have the tape too! Wendy Gelsanliter has come out with a wonderful tape that includes this song as well as some renditions of other fun songs. A word of warning however: if you read this book at bedtime, be prepared for requests to "READ IT AGAIN!"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Cookin', May 7, 2000

By 

Lindsey Wolfman "teacher" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancin' in the Kitchen (Hardcover)

Dancin' In The Kitchen is a festive celebration of food, music and family. The story dances across the pages with bright, rhythmic illustrations; and even ends with the children helping grandpa do the dishes!