¡Danza del corral! / Barnyard Dance! Spanish Edition (Boynton on Board)
“Spanish-speaking parents and children will delight in the translations of these classic books for toddlers that celebrate our humanity with wit, whimsy, wisdom, and irreverent humor.”
At last Spanish speaking children and adults can enjoy Sandra Boynton’s beloved books for children aged infant to four years old. In the past 43 years, author and illustrator Boynton has written and illustrated scores of children’s picture books (a partial bibliography lists 57 titles) that together have sold more than 70 million copies to English-speaking readers. Recently three of Boynton’s books (Barnyard Dance!, Snuggle Puppy, and The Belly Button Book) have been translated into Spanish .
These classic books feature quirky stories with witty rhymes and rhythms, lively words that expand a child’s vocabulary (why say jump or dance when you can say cavort, why move quickly when you can skitter?), a grand sense of fun—and unexpected twists.
¡Danza del corral (Barnyard Dance!) is a square dance hoe-down book where cows, sheep, pigs, and horses, rabbits, chickens, and even three rats, a donkey, and a frog twirl and swirl, do-si-do, and promenade their way through a rollicking, frolicking foot-stomping barn dance. “Bow to the horse. Bow to the cow. Twirl with the pig if you know how.”
Published in 1993 by Workman Publishing, Barnyard Dance! is among the most popular books in their list with more than 2.3 million copies in print. The "Barnyard Dance!” song, performed by John Stey, is available to hear online.
Cachorro cariñoso (Snuggle Puppy) is a love song, affirming the specialness of each child who hears it. “Everything about you is especially fine. I love what you are. I love what you do. Fuzzy little Snuggle Puppy, I love you.” The song is available online, sung by Eric Stoltz in his warm, gentle style.
Boynton has a gift for writing about things that grownups take for granted, but which are fascinating to young children who are just discovering the world and their own bodies.
In ¡El libro del ombligo! (The Belly Button Book) a herd of hippopotamuses adore their belly buttons. “We hippos love our belly b’s. They’re round and cute and funny.”
In summer the hippos gather at The Belly Button Beach, “Where Tons of Hippos Stand Around in Bathing Suits Too Little Because They Hope You Will Admire the Button on Their Middle.”
The hippos spend the day lolling on the beach: “We nibble grapes. We watch the waves. We take a little rest.” In the cool of the evening they gather to sing a joyful song, “Belly Belly Button, you’re oh so fine. Ooo, Belly Button, I’m so happy you’re mine.” Readers are invited to join along.
Long, hot, lazy summers don’t last forever. In cold winter the hippos bundle up in warm clothes—and “belly buttons hide.”
One reason Boynton’s are beloved by adults as well as children is her layers of humor with sly jokes aimed at mature audiences. Sadly, one such joke in The Belly Button Book didn’t translate well into Spanish and so was deleted. In the English version, one of the hippos on the beach wears a T-shirt with Navel Academy printed across the chest. The T-shirt message is removed from the Spanish edition.
Nevertheless, Spanish-speaking parents and children will delight in the translations of these classic books for toddlers that celebrate our humanity with wit, whimsy, wisdom, and irreverent humor.