TRACTOR DANCE

Dancing Tractors, Poetry, and Pivots

Join Matt and I as we chat deets about his board book released in the Fall of 2024, poetry, the idiosyncracies of publishing and knowing when and how to pivot. AND, a little bit of chat about his newest book too!  Come listen in or leave us a comment to join the conversation!

TRACTOR DANCE

For a board book, Matt has filled this one full of layers.  You have farm equipment, animals, lots of dance terminology and a rip-roaring hoedown of a good time.  The illustrations are joyful and complete the festive farm mood.  This one is perfect for every tractor-loving dancing toddler/preschooler out there!  A fabulous addition to preschool and daycare bookshelves.  You could have a lot of fun with this one in your classes for littles or story time or anytime at home! Super-fun and full of down-home farm happy goodness on every spread. This book will have your littles boogying down on the farm!

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

 This song is super fun for the littles, and I love that it mixes in real footage of tractors doing their work on the farm alongside the silly and very entertaining cartoon dance sequences!  This song is perfect for all your farm-loving littles or your tractor-loving littles or your boogying littles -- pretty much for all your littles! Crank it up and have a tractor dance party! Be sure to check out the playlist below in the links section for lots more tractor fun, some hoedowns, tractor square dancing, a lot of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" along with other fun music activities for kids.
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Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics

So fun!  Lots of layers! While admittedly, this (board) book is MOST appropriate for daycare and preschool and home settings, you could probably get away with using it in primary/early elementary grades, and there are some great reasons to.  If any of these apply, regardless of your setting, feel free to grab them and enjoy teaching with this joyful adorable book! (And don't forget to check out the Pinterest board and YouTube playlist for even more teaching opportunities!

Rhyme!
This is one of Matt's specialties, and it shows up great here!  
For littles, you could leave out words and see if they can predict the rhymes and just talk about the fact that it's a rhyming book. Generate verbal (or written if appropriate)lists of rhyming words.
For older/advanced kids, you could actually talk about rhyming patterns.  This one is an ABCB pattern (although a couple of spreads the lines get a little tricky, but the rhyme pattern continues throughout)
To take it even further, you could have students/children write their own poems with an ABCB pattern . . .

FARM!
Since that is the setting, it makes sense.  You could talk about the tractors and farm equipment, and other vocabulary that permeates the book: silo, neigh, plow, combine, etc.
The book is a great addition to a unit on farms!
Farm animals (and ones you don't typically think about being on farms -- like frogs) are another farm direction you could take the study. (The YouTube playlist has some nice farm ambience videos that would make the perfect backdrop)

Dance!
The book mentions several different types of dances that you could dig your heels into a bit more (pun definitely intended! ;-)
hoe-down
jig
promenading (The tractor square dancing videos in the YouTube playlist would be a hoot in conjunction with this!)
ballet/pirouette
shimmy-shake
country (line dances or two-step)
polka
How fun to have a dance party featuring lots of different dance styles! You might think about pairing it up with LET'S DANCE by Valerie Bolling if you choose to focus on the different dance styles, because that is the focus of her book and you can find that PBJamz episode here.

Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
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For preschool and kinders, I think it would be such fun to do a farm unit for music class. For that age group, here are some recommendations:

• Check out all the amazing farm/music books:
  • BARNYARD BOOGIE by Tim McCanna (PBJamz episode here)
  • MISS MCDONALD HAD A FARM by Kalee Gwarjanski (PBJamz episode here)
  • Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton
  • There are more, but these I think are especially appropriate
• Use instruments to mimic the sounds or use for sound stories of any of these books.
• Check out the square dancing tractor videos and get your littles to try some simple square dance moves.
• Sing Old McDonald and all the fun farm songs in the YouTube playlist!
• Lots of crafts/fun activities on Pinterest and you could put the ambient farm music in the background for a musical component, too!

For k-2, I think the book still has value and I think you could certainly do a compare/contrast between TRACTOR DANCE/BARNYARD BOOGIE/BARNYARD DANCE and then learn some simple dance moves. Some of the songs from the YouTube playlist would still be appropriate for this age, and I think kids of ALL ages will get a kick out of the square-dancing tractors! You could have students write new words for Old McDonald for the farm equipment. . . how fun! 

Regardless of the age/grade level, you could combine this with BARNYARD BOOGIE music activities and MISS MCDONALD HAS A FARM music activities as well and have your own classroom hoe-down!

Writing Tips from Matt!

​Re-write: If a manuscript or poem isn’t working, no one said you can’t rip it up and start over. Maybe try using a different POV, perhaps a change of scenery, or a change of character. See what happens!

Revise: If you have a manuscript or poem you really like, don’t stop there! Set it aside for a day, a week, or even longer – then go back to it with fresh eyes and see what works and what doesn’t. Change a word, change a line, polish, polish, ‘til it shines!

Recycle: I can’t count the number of poems and manuscripts that I have set aside because they just weren’t working. You probably have plenty, as well. So why not reach back into those dusty computer folders, pull one out, and see if there’s something you can do with it? Perhaps there is some nugget there you can use. Try rewriting, try revising, or even try writing it in a completely different genre! For example, my book “The Thing to Remember about Stargazing” started out as a poem that never made it into the anthology for which I wrote it - so when a well-known author/poet friend of mine suggested I flesh it out into a picture book manuscript, I decided I would do just that!

Writing Prompts from Tonnye
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Considering this book will be most appropriate for the youngest learners, my writing prompts will be in line with that:

1. Make up new words for Old McDonald, but use the farm equipment.
2. Choose your favorite farm animal and write a couple of sentences about the music/sounds they make.
3. Make a list of farm animals/equipment and beside each write an instrument you could use for that animal/farm equipment.
4. Write down your favorite dance from the book and draw a picture to match.
5. Draw a picture of your favorite farm equipment and write a couple of sentences about why you like it.
6. Have you ever been to a farm?  Make three columns: Plants/Animals/Equipment and write as many items for each category that you saw on the farm.
7. Write a class/family acrostic poem using your favorite farm word/phrase.
8. As a class/family, make a chart of as many rhyming word families as you can. (Start with the pairs in the book and see how many you can add.)

But for the writers, older kids, and adults who want a farm challenge, too:

1. Write your own story about music on a farm.
2. Write a poem with ABCB rhyming pattern. (Will yours be set on a farm, too? Or somewhere else?)
3. Write another story with a tractor as the main character.
4. Write about your favorite kind of dance and why you like it.
5. Write about a tractor square dance where something went very wrong.
6. Write about a different piece of farm equipment besides the tractor.
7. Write about one of the farm animals who would like to use one of the farm machines. What is the problem? How do they solve it?
8. Write a sensory poem about life on the farm.
9. Write a letter to Mr. Esenwine telling him your favorite thing about the book and one thing you wish was different.
10. What song do you think the farmer was singing at the end of the story? Pick up there, and write a NEW story starting with his song.

​Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

YouTube playlist full of real square-dancing tractors, lots of Aaron Copland's Rodeo music, some fun musical activities and a ton of tractor songs and videos for kids. I also included some farm ambience videos as well.  There is something for everyone in this list, and I'll continue adding as I find pieces that are a good fit.

Pinterest board with tractor party ideas, tractor crafts, tractor songs, and much more that connects with the book TRACTOR DANCE.
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Guest Links and Giveaways

Matt's website

​Matt's blog (where you can find the Poetry Friday posts we discussed)

Matt's YouTube with interviews, Wit & Wordplay and much more!
Wit & Wordplay playlist

Matt's Twitter/X
FB


To buy TRACTOR DANCE
ON AMAZON

Matt is offering a giveaway of one copy of TRACTOR DANCE to one lucky winner! To be eligible, simply leave a comment below by 11:59 PM EST on April 30.  One winner will be randomly chosen from the comments.