RUN!

Look out! He’s coming to find you!

This tale, translated from the Portuguese, is set in a deep, dark jungle where animals are on the run. A snake slithers as fast as it can, an ostrich buries its head to hide, a crocodile (or maybe an alligator) makes creative use of a tree to disguise itself, and a pink elephant flees in terror. “Hurry, he’s coming!” reads the text before an ominous countdown begins…and ends with a mouse getting ready to start the next round of hide-and-seek. The energy is fun—it’s a story in the vein of a Jon Klassen tale but with illustrations that seem to be influenced by Isabel Roxas. OK, sure, not all the animals depicted live in a jungle. (Giraffes are typically found in the grasslands of Africa, ostriches call the more arid biomes home, and zebras’ habitats vary from grasslands to less-dense woodlands.) Still, the hunt-and-seek aspect of the final spread will delight readers enough to cover for this environmental goof. The story will play best for large groups of young readers, and the bold illustrations against their dark backgrounds will pop from the front of the storytelling room to the back row. The book will play well for lap-reads, too, where finer details, such as stenciled textures and what appear to be hand-drawn elements, may inspire young artists. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

You can count on this one to be a hit!