(2) K-3 "This is a story about a kitten" begins the story-within-the-story a girl is writing and illustrating. Her orange-and-black tabby responds, "A kitten?! Don't you mean a...TIGER!" As she revises her work to suit his wishes for a tale with "PIZZAZZ!”--adding "ROCKETS! ROBOTS! LIGHTNING! SHARKS!"--the kitten becomes increasingly (and humorously) more nervous-looking. The imaginative child's artwork benefits from Woodruff's own deft use of cheery colors in her mixed-media illustrations.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) K-3 DePaola's The Quicksand Book, now apparently retitled Tomie dePaola's The Quicksand Book, has been dusted off and brightened up for a new generation. The information is, er, solid; the frame story is funny; and a considerable bonus is provided in the directions for "How to Make Your Own Quicksand."

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: June, 1977; July, 2019

(2) K-3 This book's Little Doctor, like Steig's Doctor De Soto before her, provides medical care to potentially dangerous animals. The little girl administers medicine, provides tail splints, etc., and the gentle crocodile patients pay her with stories. So far, so sweet--but there is underlying tension, involving teeth and jaws and plastic debris. Watercolor illustrations, rich in detail and in texture, give the dreamy narrative (with an environmentalist reminder) its energy.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) PS In this companion to Hug, Tall, and others, young chimpanzee Bobo would rather play in the jungle than go to bed--at least until "Dark" turns out to be scary. Like the previous books, Play features comics-style panels with limited speech-bubble text and expressive pen-and-ink illustrations. Bobo has pleasantly grown as a character, with an expanding vocabulary and a desire for independent exploration before snuggling up with Mommy: "Bedtime."

Reviewer: Rachel Marsh

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Nikki Dyson. When a mysterious creature with "super-duper, ship-shape-sharp teeth" starts biting everyone's bottoms, Frog and friends seek out King Lion's help. Don't look here for animal accuracy--Zebra lives in the jungle and Lion prefers mangoes to meat--but a peppy rhyming refrain, silly sound effects ("EE-EE-EEEK!"), and much talk of bottoms will keep readers laughing. Digital illustrations create a lush, colorful jungle world.

Reviewer: Rachel Marsh

(3) PS Little Tiger's older brother challenges him to scare "a single animal in the forest." But no matter how much Little Tiger tries ("Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe... / ROAR!!!"), he's too little to be frightening. Finally, he catches sight of his own reflection in a pond and manages to scare...himself. Soft, personality-rich pencil and watercolor illustrations accompany a simple but entertaining story.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 Translated by Lisa Rosinsky. Illustrated by Nathalie Dieterlé. In this French import's fictitious jungle where kangaroos, lions, alligators, and others incongruously coexist, all the animals are fighting. Little elephant Jojo, who carries an adorable pink parasol, pretends he lost his memory so the creatures will work together to help him. His clever tactics will delight readers, especially once they're in on the joke. The animals are somewhat abstract-looking in the humorous, colorful ink and colored-pencil illustrations.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(4) K-3 Young girl Nina visits a secret jungle that has engulfed a forgotten city, where she reads to the animals. The jungle creatures have wide-ranging tastes in stories, but they collectively prefer--in a meta touch--"this one...Nina calls it 'Animal City.'" Negrescolor's narrative won't grip young readers the way Nina's stories grip the animals, but the digital art powered by tropical colors will.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ziyue Chen. After acting selfishly, Mela gets lost in the jungle near her northern Thai village. She requests help from different animals, offering her possessions as rewards. Ultimately, only a kindly elephant helps her, and for nothing in return. Mela learns a valuable lesson about generosity and gratitude in this original fable with a folkloric, repetitive cadence and verdant digital illustrations. Includes a note on Thailand.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Kristjana S. Williams. Five linked stories expand the adventures of Kipling's Mowgli. The first four stories illustrate important qualities and skills through the experiences of Mother Wolf, Bagheera the panther, Baloo the bear, and Kaa the snake. In the final tale, Mowgli draws on each lesson to prevail over his own adversary, the great white ape. Williams's illustrations add interest, but Rundell's storytelling is the star of this collection.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA After volcanic activity upends Snub's gorilla family in prehistoric Africa, Snub cares for her baby brother and abandoned "not-gorilla" Orphan (a human girl). But Snub's other interactions with the new, two-legged predators turn violent. Unlike Schrefer's previous three volumes (Endangered and others), this novel is in free verse with a third-person perspective. While not entirely convincing, the narrative provides an intriguing glimpse into gorilla consciousness and prehistory. Reading list.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) 1-3 With additional illustrations by George Boorujy. Shoe-making donkey Francis is thrilled when calypso singer, Miss Manatee, places a special order. When Francis (carrying a field guide with illustrations by Boorujy) and his bird friend Rhoda enter the jungle in search of wild tiger grass for the order, they make a surprising discovery. The cartoon panels in this silly and delightfully odd early-reader graphic novel's six chapters are filled with informational matter about South American jungles.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(3) K-3 First Facts: Animal Rulers series. This series showcases predators that dominate their food chains. Each book briefly describes characteristics that help creatures--such as the scorpion (Deserts), Bengal tiger (Jungles), and great white shark (Oceans)--not only survive but rule their habitats. The small volumes offer vivid photographs and interesting content; fact sidebars and same-page vocabulary definitions are helpful design elements. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these First Facts: Animal Rulers titles: Kings of the Deserts, Kings of the Jungles, and Kings of the Oceans.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Arree Chung. Eleven-year-old Ronald Zupan sets out with the requisite sidekicks to rescue his artifact-hunting parents, enduring pirates, poison arrows, a plane crash, and more. Told in alternating voices, Ronald exaggerates the story while his butler, Thomas, tries to keep things grounded in reality. Accompanied by appealing spot- and full-page black-and-white illustrations, the adventures become rather tedious in spite of their variety.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Edver, in Cuba for the summer with the scientist father he's never met, is shocked to learn he has a twelve-year-old sister. Luza resents Edver's privileged life, but the siblings bond over their mutual love of the jungle's plants and wildlife and work together to save their country's living heritage. Through alternating chapters, Edver's and Luza's stories are told in Engle's signature verse style. Glos.

Reviewer: Alma Ramos-McDermott | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2017

(4) 4-6 New Jungle Book Adventures series. Illustrated by Javier Joaquin. London boy Mak must use his wits to survive after a boat accident in the Indian jungle. Mak learns from wolves, a panther, and a bear while fending off threats from cobras, poachers, and more. A pedestrian reboot of Kipling's famous tale told in straightforward prose, this contemporary wilderness-survival story cashes in on TV-adventurer Grylls's famous can-do approach. Survival tips appended.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) K-3 Illustrated by James Boast. Storytelling with a "once upon..." refrain follows the jungle food chain, from insects to predators to trees. Foldout back matter describes the pathway of natural energy, touching on producers, consumers, and decomposers. Bright, sharp-edged swaths of color, made all the more vivid against predominantly black backgrounds, create the flora and fauna. The crisp art works alongside simple prose to create a cursory ecology lesson.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) 4-6 Tales from Adventureland series. Illustrated by Jeffrey Clark. Andy Stanley discovers clues left behind by his presumed-dead jungle-explorer grandfather that starts him on a quest related to a magical key. Andy finds help along the way from Grandfather's quirky colleagues as well as a few surprising sources. Nonstop action, clever puzzles, and interesting characters make this standard adventure (a commercial tie-in to Disney's Adventureland theme park) a lot of fun.

Reviewer: Kristine Caldwell

(4) K-3 When patchwork elephant Elmer hears "a catchy tune" from his friend Rose, it gets stuck in his head. He strolls through the jungle humming the tune...and soon all the animals are stuck singing the melody and look to Elmer for a solution. The one-note premise wears thin, but, as with most Elmer books, the vibrant, rainbow-colored art provides the familiar appeal.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) 4-6 Horizon series. In the second series book, child survivors of a plane crash uncover new dangers within an unnatural Arctic-bound environment. With their gadgets rendered useless in a "blood sand" desert, the kids confront abnormal wildlife and treacherous robots as they try to escape. Characters remain flat, but the series' deepening mystery, unusual creatures, and online component will pique readers' interest for coming volumes.

Reviewer: Russell Perry