BABRI

Babri is a curious tiger cub. His mother calls him ``my why child'' because he asks so many questions. She warns him not to leave their fern glen and venture into the jungle alone, but Babri sees a mouse running towards the forbidden place and follows. He catches Mouse and asks why he runs. ``Those who can't fight must flee. That is the way of things for mice,'' answers Mouse. Babri meets Squirrel, Bird, and Frog, all of whom provide answers to his queries. Then he gets homesick, and he learns that Elephant can lead him back to his fern glen. But before he meets Elephant, Babri encounters less benevolent Crocodile and Snake. Elephant finds the cub and brings him home to his worried mother, who was out all night searching for him. Newcomer Jacobs shows a little tiger who is both predator and prey, good and mischievous, and endearingly curious. Amiri's illustrations are bright, bold, stylized wonders. A gloriously presented, finely woven modern folktale. (Fiction/Picture book. 4-7)