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Product Details
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Product Description
Product Description
Jane Yolen introduces us to the fickle scarecrow, who decides to leave his station and dance away the fall night. He leaps through the fields until he reaches the farmhouse, where he sees a small light in the window. Inside, a boy is saying his prayers, and he offers up a special prayer for the corn that will be harvested in the morning. Humbled, the scarecrow knows what he has to do: He returns to the field and watches over the corn as only he can. Masterfully told, with illustrations by award winner Bagram Ibatoulline, this book has all the makings of a new classic.
About the Author
Jane Yolen has written more than 250 books, including How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? She has won the Christopher Medal and the Golden Kite Award, among other honors. She lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Bagram Ibatoulline has illustrated The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and a number of other picture books. Born in Russia, he now lives in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania.
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Customer Reviews
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There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon Canada
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a gorgeous and very appealing tale of the lowly scarecrow, the heart and soul of the farm!, Aug 30 2009
By D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Scarecrow's Dance (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
The moon was high over the fields while the lonesome scarecrow continued his solitary watch over the now mature corn. It was autumn and the gentle winds of the summer began to cool and whip through the fields, tearing at his shirt and blowing parts of it across the darkened field. He began to dance in the wind, flung this way and that. Even his straw leg whipped up and reached to the sky when a burst of cold wind hit him. Whish! Whish! He "left his place" in the field and ran down a corn row as a Prairie Dog watched in amazement.
"He jogged a row
And trotted back
Along the cornfield's
Dirt-piled track,
While high above
His painted Head,
The crazed and cawing
Black crows fled."
The scarecrow danced and swayed through the farm past the tractor, past the Holsteins, the barn and the two sleeping pigs. He skittered by the old horse drawn hay mower sidled against the barn and came into view of the farm house. He peered into the window and saw a little boy on his knees praying. "Please . . . " The scarecrow listened carefully and suddenly a single tear began to fall down his cheek. What did the little boy pray for that could make an old weathered scarecrow weep?
I was utterly impressed with the quality of this book. I loved the autumn theme and the message that everything and everyone has a special purpose in life, including the lowly scarecrow. The art work uses a darkened pallette, keeping with the fall equinox when the days become shorter and everything appears to be much darker in the countryside. The rural parent and child may be able to appreciate the country theme more as the scenery is familiar. I just loved this story of the lowly scarecrow, the heart and soul of the farm!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Unique Book with Wonderful Illustrations, Oct 16 2009
By Eric "pilotdaddy" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Scarecrow's Dance (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3-star story with 5-star illustrations, Sep 17 2009
By Jared Castle - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Scarecrow's Dance (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
Jane Yolen deserves praise for offering a distinctive view of the iconic scarecrow. Her picture book attempts to fuse magic and faith, silliness and somberness. The results are uneven; the poem's tone is often gloomy and foreboding; awkward words interrupt the rhythm of rhymed couplets. For example, Yolen chose "forlorn" and "singularity" to complete rhymes but children would more easily understand "sad" and "miracle".
He danced past tractor
In the field.
Sill waiting to
Bring in the yield.
Past cows who lay down
In the grass
And watced him
As he, silent, passed.
He danced by barn
As red as blood
And two pigs sleeping
In the mud.
The "red as blood" description bothered my sons (ages 6 and 5). They asked me if that meant someone was hurt.
While the poem suffers from jagged rhymes and tone, the illustrations are outstanding. Bagram Ibatoulline captures twilight's soft colors, the breezy look of an evening wind rushing through the corn fields and a soft, cheerful scarecrow.
In summary, The Scarecrow's Dance deserves three stars, crediting its unique storyline while the illustrations deserve no less than five stars. Together, the picture book earns four stars for a net score of four stars.
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