Barn Dance! (Reading Rainbow). This item is unavailable.Barn Dance! (Reading Rainbow)

In an old farmhouse, bathed in the light of a full moon, a young boy creeps to his bedroom window and looks outside. Was that a voice he just heard, or the hooting of an owl? There it is again:

Come a little closer...
Come a little closer...
Listen to the night...
There's music in the air...

Beckoned by the voice, the boy sneaks downstairs, out the door, and walks toward the barn. As he gets closer he hears the sweet sound of a country fiddler and the rhythmic thumping of dancing feet. But who could possibly be having a barn dance in the middle of the night?

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children's books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

John Archambault has collaborated on several successful picture books, including The Ghost-Eye Tree, Barn Dance!, and Knots on a Counting Rope. With Bill Martin Jr. he wrote Listen to the Rain and The Magic Pumpkin.

Ted Rand has collaborated with Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault on several successful picture books, including The Ghost-Eye Tree, Barn Dance!, and Knots on a Counting Rope.