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DANCE! DANCE! UNDERPANTS! by Bob Shea

DANCE! DANCE! UNDERPANTS!

From the Ballet Cat series

by Bob Shea ; illustrated by Bob Shea

Pub Date: Feb. 2nd, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1379-2
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Friendship has its high and low points in this dance adventure.

Ballet Cat wants one thing and one thing only—that which she considers the highlight of ballet dancing—to leap high into the air. Her friend Butter Bear comes up with one excuse after another not to, all of which are countered by Ballet Cat. Finally Butter Bear realizes that even hibernation will not save her, and she whispers the real reason for her reluctant behavior: her patterned underwear will surely draw laughs from their watching friends. This scenario is designed to elicit chuckles from the beginning readers to whom the title is targeted; a two-page chant of “UNDERPANTS!” (times six) certainly adds to the fun. Ballet Cat is all pink, and Butter Bear is yellow, with each sketched in a cartoony style and outlined in heavy black lines against solid-colored backgrounds. The dialogue is spoken in colorful speech bubbles. This is the second adventure for Ballet Cat, and while she and B. Bear lack nuance in their relationship, their high spirits and lively repartee should keep fans of the series turning pages.

A friend’s single-mindedness overcomes myriad excuses, and a good time is had by all, beginning readers included

. (Early reader. 4-8)