Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

From the opening panels it is clear that this is not a quiet reading book. Much to Buggy's chagrin, Horse loves to dance! The rubber-legged horse hops, leaps, twists, break-dances, and pirouettes across the pages. There's even a John Travolta pose—all before the title page. But, hearing no music, Buggy insists, "You are just moving around." In a sweet twist, Horse sympathetically declares, "I am not happy. Because you are not happy." The problem is resolved with humor and compassion. Horse supplies music they can both hear. Then they both dance. Long uses fewer than 50 different words, many repeatedly, to tell this engaging story. "Dance," "can," and "can't" are on almost every spread, ensuring new readers' success. Hints to the meanings of more-challenging words are included in the pictures. The text consists entirely of Horse and Buggy's conversation. Who is speaking is made clear by placing their simple declarative sentences in blocks of white with an arrow pointing at the speaker. The friends are cartoonish characters drawn in shades of gray with expressive round eyes; Horse's are lashless, while Buggy's sport three long lashes apiece, suggesting gender. These uncluttered and somewhat silly illustrations against solid blocks of teal, purple, orange, and green match the text perfectly. As Horse says, "turn off the frown. Start getting down!" Beginning readers—get up, dance, and read! (Early reader. 4-8)

ALA Booklist (Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

In the tradition of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie stories, a new duo nstantly moving, gray-spotted, bug-eyed Horse and a skeptical, equally bug-eyed fly named Buggy scusses what actually constitutes dancing, while demonstrating their dance moves. Horse gyrates to music that only he can hear, which causes Buggy to question whether he is really dancing or just moving about. When Horse invites Buggy to dance, Buggy declines, but then begrudgingly shows her moves when Horse suggests that perhaps she can't dance. Unimpressed with Buggy's efforts, Horse turns on a boom box, and Buggy finds her groove, only to have Horse collapse in exhaustion. This picture-book-sized easy reader manages to effectively portray the interaction between the two while keeping the vocabulary limited. Full-page illustrations with just the characters and minimal accoutrements against colorful backgrounds cleverly enhance the text and set a humorous tone. While grandparents might chuckle at the dance moves from Saturday Night Fever and Flashdance, young ones will enjoy the spirit.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Horse loves to dance, even without music; Buggy, a small bug, does not. But when Horse challenges Buggy to dance and then pumps some tunes ("What a fun song!"), Buggy and Horse boogie down until Horse tires out. Horse and Buggy's back-and-forth dialogue is simple and funny, as are the cartoon illustrations, which depict Horse doing the tango, the Charleston, the robot, and more on brightly colored backgrounds.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

From the opening panels it is clear that this is not a quiet reading book. Much to Buggy's chagrin, Horse loves to dance! The rubber-legged horse hops, leaps, twists, break-dances, and pirouettes across the pages. There's even a John Travolta pose—all before the title page. But, hearing no music, Buggy insists, "You are just moving around." In a sweet twist, Horse sympathetically declares, "I am not happy. Because you are not happy." The problem is resolved with humor and compassion. Horse supplies music they can both hear. Then they both dance. Long uses fewer than 50 different words, many repeatedly, to tell this engaging story. "Dance," "can," and "can't" are on almost every spread, ensuring new readers' success. Hints to the meanings of more-challenging words are included in the pictures. The text consists entirely of Horse and Buggy's conversation. Who is speaking is made clear by placing their simple declarative sentences in blocks of white with an arrow pointing at the speaker. The friends are cartoonish characters drawn in shades of gray with expressive round eyes; Horse's are lashless, while Buggy's sport three long lashes apiece, suggesting gender. These uncluttered and somewhat silly illustrations against solid blocks of teal, purple, orange, and green match the text perfectly. As Horse says, "turn off the frown. Start getting down!" Beginning readers—get up, dance, and read! (Early reader. 4-8)