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Kids Go!
Once upon a time there were two sleepy kids. Then they heard a distant sound, a beat that got louder and louder. They had to move their feet. They got up off the couch and started to move their legs. Then, with the help of a few unexpected friends, they learned how to move like a monkey, move like a jumping bean, move like a jack-in-the-box and go! go! GO!
This very special book is both a story and a song. So watch the animated DVD, move like a monkey, and sing along!
48 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 3, 2022
Cute book with lush, mostly green illustrations. The message - to exercise - is good but the text slightly bland. The song that goes along with this book didn’t impress me much - so three stars.
April 25, 2012
I love they might be giants. I have been a fan since right before they released their first demo tape back in 86? But the text and pictures are so lame I didn't mind when I found I had returned the book to the library without listening to the actual song.
July 24, 2018
Grammy-winning indie rockers They Might Be Giants are probably best known for their amazing music video collections Here Come the ABCs, Here Come the 123s, and Here Comes Science. This is their second picture book built around a song, following up Bed Bed Bed, a bedtime collection of three songs that I found a little too abstract in parts.
Kids Go! is straightforward and high-energy. It speaks directly to kids, telling them to "stand up" and "get up off the floor." It directs them to "move like a monkey," and "Go! Go! Go!".
This is a perfect book for kids who need help with their arousal level as well as for kids who love the multi-sensory combination of dance, music, and visuals. There's even an instrumental break for a dance party mid-song on the DVD.
The line art is delightfully simple with lots of white backgrounds and a restrained color palette that feels almost 70s. A DVD with the animated music video comes with the book.
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I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about singalong books: https://www.lineupthebooks.com/40-sin...
Kids Go! is straightforward and high-energy. It speaks directly to kids, telling them to "stand up" and "get up off the floor." It directs them to "move like a monkey," and "Go! Go! Go!".
This is a perfect book for kids who need help with their arousal level as well as for kids who love the multi-sensory combination of dance, music, and visuals. There's even an instrumental break for a dance party mid-song on the DVD.
The line art is delightfully simple with lots of white backgrounds and a restrained color palette that feels almost 70s. A DVD with the animated music video comes with the book.
---
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about singalong books: https://www.lineupthebooks.com/40-sin...
January 29, 2019
This book might be especially helpful to get children moving on lazy rainy days. They Might Be Giants includes moments such as jumping up and down and running. The illustrations are extremely animated and more on the unrealistic side, but the tone is exciting and fun.
October 25, 2017
The DVD video was an added bonus. A great way to get the kiddos up and moving to the book and the song.
February 3, 2013
I'm not even sure how I'm meant to review this. But here goes!
Do I review it...
AS A BOOK? The illustrations are nice enough but the words...were obviously written as lyrics to a song, and don't work at all as a story and barely even as poetry. Maybe I should review it...
AS A SONG? It's a fun and catchy song. Not They Might Be Giants's best, though, even when it comes to the kids albums. I don't imagine it would cut it as a music single, so I wouldn't recommend buying this just for the song. Unless for the fan-collectible factor. If the price is marked off. Though you do get not just the song, which means I should rate it...
AS A SONG WITH A BOOK? Again, it's not a particularly amazing song that it seems like it needs the book. It works well enough as a TV commercial segment, but is it something that you would desire to own to watch/listen to/read as often as you can? You'd...have to ask a kid that. A kid who's played the video so he could judge it...
AS A BOOK/DVD COMBO? The DVD is of the music video for the one song that starts automatically and plays on a loop. Since the song is repetitive enough the looping will either work well or drive you crazy quickly. The book's compatibility with the DVD is...kind of puzzling, considering the whole point of the song is to get up and move about. I can understand reading a book while it's being sung to you on the TV, except this is a book/song that is very clear about its motivations to get you to not sit still long enough to be able to read its own book.
So the "book with a DVD of a music video of a song" package is a neat idea and I appreciate that They Might Be Giants have put it out there as an example of said idea, but it's not the best possible song that could've been used to do it. And the very idea that it's just the one song makes it a bit of a hard sell. How about this: There are already DVDs of Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s and Here Comes Science. What if there were similar companion books to those? Imagine a book with multiple "stories" (songs) that can occupy a child for more than the two-minutes-and-twenty-seconds (or repeated multiples thereof)? Imagine pages for Alphabet of Nations that can get kids excited about learning exactly where those countries are on a map, with supplemental information about them? Or they could sing along to How Many Planets? and on the side read planetary facts. It sounds better than just ordering them to move like a monkey and move like a jumping bean, anyway.
AS A NOVELTY music thing I give it three stars. I like its novelty. Hopefully this is just the starting point of greater similar projects for TMBG to release.
Do I review it...
AS A BOOK? The illustrations are nice enough but the words...were obviously written as lyrics to a song, and don't work at all as a story and barely even as poetry. Maybe I should review it...
AS A SONG? It's a fun and catchy song. Not They Might Be Giants's best, though, even when it comes to the kids albums. I don't imagine it would cut it as a music single, so I wouldn't recommend buying this just for the song. Unless for the fan-collectible factor. If the price is marked off. Though you do get not just the song, which means I should rate it...
AS A SONG WITH A BOOK? Again, it's not a particularly amazing song that it seems like it needs the book. It works well enough as a TV commercial segment, but is it something that you would desire to own to watch/listen to/read as often as you can? You'd...have to ask a kid that. A kid who's played the video so he could judge it...
AS A BOOK/DVD COMBO? The DVD is of the music video for the one song that starts automatically and plays on a loop. Since the song is repetitive enough the looping will either work well or drive you crazy quickly. The book's compatibility with the DVD is...kind of puzzling, considering the whole point of the song is to get up and move about. I can understand reading a book while it's being sung to you on the TV, except this is a book/song that is very clear about its motivations to get you to not sit still long enough to be able to read its own book.
So the "book with a DVD of a music video of a song" package is a neat idea and I appreciate that They Might Be Giants have put it out there as an example of said idea, but it's not the best possible song that could've been used to do it. And the very idea that it's just the one song makes it a bit of a hard sell. How about this: There are already DVDs of Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s and Here Comes Science. What if there were similar companion books to those? Imagine a book with multiple "stories" (songs) that can occupy a child for more than the two-minutes-and-twenty-seconds (or repeated multiples thereof)? Imagine pages for Alphabet of Nations that can get kids excited about learning exactly where those countries are on a map, with supplemental information about them? Or they could sing along to How Many Planets? and on the side read planetary facts. It sounds better than just ordering them to move like a monkey and move like a jumping bean, anyway.
AS A NOVELTY music thing I give it three stars. I like its novelty. Hopefully this is just the starting point of greater similar projects for TMBG to release.
November 25, 2009
Fun and active...only complaint being that they don't have this song available to download for use with the book and the DVD is not watchable from the library computers. bummer. it would've been nice to be able to download it to the ipod.
December 28, 2011
so cute! even if the evil overlord in training kept saying no book the whole time i was reading it.
i love the colors, the illustrations are adorable, and even just reading the book you can hear the rhyme and how fun it is.
i love the colors, the illustrations are adorable, and even just reading the book you can hear the rhyme and how fun it is.
November 17, 2009
The book is fine. Cute. Got monkeys. But the DVD that comes with is SUPERBUMPARUMPAFANTASTIC. HAPPYSLAPPYTASTIC. They ought to play it between every show on PBS Kids. Hell, I'm STILL hummin' it.
February 23, 2010
That was fun! This would be fun to do in a movement storytime. Or, just to get your little couch potato up and moving!
November 4, 2011
The book and song definitely go together.
An illustrated version of the song "Go, Kid, Go," encouraging the reader to get up and move around.
An illustrated version of the song "Go, Kid, Go," encouraging the reader to get up and move around.
November 25, 2012
Fun tune, but the book alone lacks any interest whatsoever.
January 31, 2016
As a kids book, it's simple. But the illustrations are great, and it's a little funny.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews