Deep in the jungle - Softcover

Yaccarino, Dan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0439216265 ISBN 13: 9780439216265

Publisher: Scholastic, 2001

Synopsis

After being tricked into joining the circus, an arrogant lion escapes and returns to the jungle where he lives peacefully with the animals he used to terrorize.

About this title

Review

The mighty lion is king of the jungle--or bully of the jungle, depending on who's telling the story. He demands that the monkeys fan him with giant leaves, the leopards bring him food, and the elephants provide him shade. The animals can't stand him one bit.

One day, a smooth-talking city fellow is roaming through the jungle when the lion leaps on him and exclaims, "I am the king of this jungle! Now prepare to be eaten!" ("Rrrrroar!" he added.) As it turns out, the slick, plaid-jacketed man appreciates a good gut-splitting roar when he hears one. When he tells the lion that he can make him a big star, the self-important feline is only too pleased to come along with him. (And his harassed jungle companions are only too pleased to be rid of him.) But life in the big city is not all it's cracked it up to be. The lion finds himself in degrading circumstances, being forced to respond to a snapping whip in a circus ring. It's time to take matters into his own hands--or teeth, as the case may be.

This hilariously dry tale of comeuppance and redemption will become an immediate favorite with readers from jungle to city and everywhere in between. Dan Yaccarino's cool retro-style gouache paintings also enliven the pages of Circle Dogs, An Octopus Followed Me Home, and If I Had a Robot. (Ages 3 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

In perhaps his best-realized picture book yet, Yaccarino (Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon) takes a tongue-in-cheek look at an arrogant king of beasts. This lion bullies his subjects, including frowning brown monkeys and irritated blue elephants. " 'I'm afraid I must eat you,' he explained, 'if you don't obey me....' The animals couldn't stand him one bit." One day, a city slicker arrives in the jungle and appeals to the lion's ego, promising to make him a big star if he leaves the jungle. The lion agrees, and Yaccarino cuts to an image of jubilant creatures, who are "more than happy to be rid of" their annoying boss. With their rounded bodies, rendered in curving strokes of gouache, the characters resemble plush toys, but their black-button eyes and single-line smiles express their moods. Rather than taking a Curious George or The Story of Babar approach, Yaccarino upends the traditional tale of captivity. The lion resents being put on a leash and forced to do circus tricks. Such humiliating treatment forces him to take extreme measures; having eaten his would-be tamer, he gallops home to apologize to his old companions. With short, sharp sentences and mild sarcasm, Yaccarino humorously twists the savage-versus-civilized formula. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0439216265
• ISBN 13: 9780439216265
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English