Jag - Softcover

Rimes, LeAnn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0142404527 ISBN 13: 9780142404522

Publisher: Puffin, 2005

Synopsis

Fearful that his new classmates might discover that he is afraid of water, Jag the Jaguar worries about going to school, but once he arrives, Jag notices that another classmate has become the main target of the bullies and so decides to risk his own popularity by taking a stand for his new friend. Reprint.

About this title

Review:

Award-winning country chanteuse Leann Rimes writes her first children's book Jag, the story of a young jaguar who dreads her first day of school but learns to meet her fears head-on. She isn't afraid of meeting new friends ("Who needs that stuff?"), but she is deeply afraid of the swimming lessons she knows are inevitable: "Nothing frightened Jag more than the river. She preferred solid ground, which didn't shift and slip under her paws." Isabel, the wise parrot, warns Jag that if she doesn't learn to swim, she'll have to stand up to the ridicule of her peers as well as her fears. Sure enough, the trouble starts the first day of school when the jaguar cub announces her nickname Jag. "Who's next? Ow the Owl?" someone cries. It only gets worse at the river the next day during swimming lessons. But when one young jaguar named Simon with completely black fur (no spots!) shows up for class and is ridiculed for his appearance, Jag has to decide whether to revel in being part of the group du jour or to be kind to the newcomer. In the end, she not only befriends Simon, she releases such a huge roar for a tiny jaguar that her classmates tremble in their fur. Kids who are afraid of school, or troubled by the ways in which they are challenged by the group, may be inspired by this winning story of a small cat who takes on peers and fears with a growl and not a whimper. Illustrator Richard Bernal creates a soft, friendly, Disneyesque jungle where butterflies yawn and kittenish jaguars walk upright. (Ages 4 and older) --Karin Snelson

About the Author:

LeAnn Rimes lives with her husband, Dean Sheremet, in Nashville, Tennessee. Richard Bernal lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0142404527
• ISBN 13: 9780142404522
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Bernal Richard