JUNGLE

Arresting design, simple and useful content, and animal parents and babies: What’s not to like?

Together with Farm, its simultaneously publishing companion in the Animal Families series, this book is exquisite. The eye-popping neon colors and uncluttered, expressive, screen-printed artwork alone make both books worth the price of admission, but the entire presentation hits all the right notes. Each two-page spread is devoted to a species of animal. The “daddy,” with proper nomenclature, appears on verso, “mommy,” with her appropriate term, on recto. The flap upon which “mommy” appears opens, revealing their young along with the proper term for babies of that species: “A daddy peafowl is called a peacock. / A mommy peafowl is called a peahen. Baby peafowl are called… / peachicks!” Each book features four species; the final spread has flaps on both sides that open up to reveal the four animal families depicted and the collective terms for families of each species: in the case of the jungle dwellers, a “memory” of elephants, an “embarrassment” of pandas, a “pride” of peafowl, and an "ambush" of tigers, for example. Farm features sheep, donkeys, chickens, and pigs. Kids will learn to tell jacks from jennys, rams from ewes, and foals from lambs, chicks, and piglets. Opening the flaps adds yet another level of interest for curious—and grabby—tots.

Whether readers are zoologists in the making or just fans of our animal friends, this book and its companion are sure to please.