The Jungle Grapevine - Alex Beard

for: Kids who love intelligent vocabulary (quench, drought, bellowed, slithered, distress, ruckus, prowl.....)
Abrams, 2009
$16.95
40 pgs.
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Map-like drawing of the animals, the watering hole and their relationship to it

An offhand remark by Turtle to Bird begins a series of miscommunications (much like the game of TELEPHONE) somewhere in Africa. See what happens when Gazelle, Hippo, Crocodile, Elephant, Wildebeest, Zebra, Lion, Snake and Flamingos join in. Filled with humor, African animals, alliteration, and great illustrations, this book sure won my heart!

The illustrations and font are different in a really good way - cleverly crafted, the watercolor painting goes to the side edges of the page, but a thick line frames the majority of the illustration. This makes it look like the painting is actually slipping off the page. The font looks like printing. It really works.

There's an interesting author's note at the end.