BARN DANCE!

A cheery picture book that's a winning combination of magic and humor and that should be useful for bedtime and library story-time. A young boy is roused from sleep by the call of an owl, and he joins the animals of woodland and farm in a square dance called by a scarecrow. Midnight blue and moonlight yellow are the dominant colors of the book, offering a background mood of enchantment; the harvest night setting suggests Halloween, while the animals' dancing makes one think of legends of Christmas Eve, all accompanied by a nice, mysterious mood with no threatening overtones. The barn-dance scene is humorous and charming, with the "skinny kid" invited to show the old cow how to dance; the animals prance happily through the antics of the dance, and the text has the rhythm, bounce and rhyme of a good square-dance call. A lively tale that'll enliven picture-book times, particularly not-too-scary Halloween programs for young children.