We just had Easter Sunday at my girlfriend's family's house (my family has no little kids, hence no eggs to hunt) and it was the first real place for me to test out Lauri Monopoli's children's book, "The Book About Tony Chestnut". You see, unlike most children's books, this one doesn't work on the same level with a single child as it does with a group, and the reason for this is that it has a soundtrack!

The Monopolis' (Laurie and Don, book writer and songwriter. I'm assuming they share a family relationship) both have scores of teaching, singing, and child education experiences under their belt. I used to teach writing to eighth graders, so I know the kind of role you have to assume around children. The Monopolis' seem to have inhabited that role for a long time, and I wanted to try out their book and song before an audience.

The story in "The Book About Tony Chestnut" is really as innocuous as children playing on a playground. Tony and his sister, Eileen, have just moved in from out of town and are nervous about meeting new kids. It's a standard conflict that children will instantly relate to. What is not standard is Tony's answer to the situation. A dance number!

A dance number in a children's book isn't quite as radical as it may seem, but the way it's done is ingenious. Almost in comic book form, different segments of the page represent different motions of Tony's dance and song. After the initial dance instruction, the pages are cut short so that they become a kind of flap book, with each page going to the next child on the playground. The message is clear without having to be explained. You can do this with your children.