1989 Caldecott Medal Winner

Color pencil illustrations in lots of bright, primary colors give this book a certain liveliness.

A grandfather pulls out an old trunk of clothing in the attic and presents his vaudeville "song and dance man" routine from long ago to his grandchildren. If my grandpa could do this, I would totally watch him instead of TV. Plus, I'm a sucker for grandparents, and nostalgia. ( )

Loved this book, loved the idea of a grandpa showing his grandkids a great time and just hangig out with them and being present in their life. ( )

A trio of children go to visit their grandfather, who was a vaudeville performer in his youth. Their grandfather laments the passing of the "song and dance" days, but he still pulls out all his old vaudeville gear and puts on a one man variety show for his grandchildren. The children are genuinely delighted by their grandfather's performance, and he is equally pleased to be able to share a piece of his personal history with his descendants. Though this story has a sort of melancholy nostalgia to it, I think that ultimately what the grandfather was missing was performing for an audience, so that in addition to passing along memories of his performance to his grandchildren, he was also able to realize that he didn't necessarily miss performing for a large audience, just a grateful one. ( )

Grandpa demonstrates for his visiting grandchildren some of the songs, dances, and jokes he performed when he was a vaudeville entertainer.

This is a fun book that is all focused on grandpa. He was a song and dance man that showed his grandchildren the attic where everything is kept. He puts his gear on and begins to put a show on for the children. They are very amazed by the moves and tricks that grandpa does. Once grandpa finalizes his small show, he comes to realize how much he misses doing dance. This story provides a fresh reminder that certain things that are done may bring back memories.