Jungle Gym Jitters - Hardcover

Richards, Chuck

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802789323 ISBN 13: 9780802789327

Publisher: Walker Childrens, 2004

Synopsis

Jerry's father is a creative genius, always thinking of ways to make life more interesting. But when he starts building a jungle gym that gets taller and taller, twisting all the way up to the sky, the soaring spectacle makes Jerry seriously squeamish.

Jerry's jungle gym jitters get worse when he sees fearless friends and acrobatic animals hanging from tires and riding through tunnels. The overgrown obstacle course is scary enough for Jerry, but when a fire traps his daredevil sister in the towering contraption, only Jerry can save her. Can he summon the courage to rise to the occasion, or will the jungle gym jitters paralyze him?

About this title

About the Author:

Chuck Richards is an artist who has been teaching college-level drawing to first year art and design majors for the past twenty years.

One day he was riding his bike past an elementary school playground with a fantastic, large wooden play structure and thought that it would be a useful tool for teaching his students linear perspective. At the same time, his children were bringing home amazing picture books. The two events combined to spark the idea for Jungle Gym Jitters, which took five years to create. Jungle Gym Jitters marks his debut as a picture-book artist.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3–While cleaning up his wood shop, Jerry J. Jingle's dad has a flash of inspiration. As his vision gradually takes shape, a jungle gym emerges, but before long, the fun turns to terror for Jerry and the community. Dad's frenzy becomes maniacal, and the structure soon incorporates "silvery loops that were sixty-feet tall," sky-high tire swings, a host of jungle creatures, and gigantic blimps that careen in a dizzying whirl. During a wild celebration, a fiery limbo dance imperils everyone, particularly the protagonist's sister. Richards's surreal scenes, composed with colored and graphite pencils on gray paper, are reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg's work in Jumanji (Houghton, 1981). The compositions here are more crowded and frenetic, but the extreme perspectives, retro setting, and monochromatic tones invite comparison. The rhymed text, however, is awkward, and the boy's protracted jitters don't allow for much of an emotional range: "Long strings of tire swings swooped up through the sky/as, longingly, Jerry watched life pass him by." There is not enough storytelling going on in the visuals to sustain interest through the pedestrian and predictable narrative. For more satisfying tales involving invention and courage, try William Joyce's Santa Calls (HarperCollins, 1993) or Paul Fleischman's Weslandia (Candlewick, 1999).–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
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About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Childrens
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0802789323
• ISBN 13: 9780802789327
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Richards Chuck