SLEEPY HAPPY CAPY CUDDLES

A noisy rainforest calms down with a capybara’s invitations to cuddle.

The capybara’s curious willingness to serve as chair or pillow for many unrelated species is the factual basis for this playful, nature-themed tale. The opening pages are filled with animal noises; it’s the “rumpus” of the rainforest. But the animals quiet down, perhaps surprised, when the capybara emerges from underwater, burbling bubbles, flicking her ears, and shimmying her “booty bottom.” The furry, oversize rodent invites her neighbors—a turtle, a green iguana, macaws, monkeys, frogs, butterflies—to cuddle with her in whatever manner they’d like. When the crocodile appears, it ROARS—a grand surprise for readers and listeners—and then whispers an admission that it likes cuddles, too. When the capybara is happy, she goes “floof.” This lovely sound is repeated with every encounter. There is a lot of scope for dramatic reading, whether to a child on a lap or to a herd of small humans. The noise of the forest abates with the crocodile’s whisper and then breaks into a final chorus of floofs with the arrival of more capybaras ready to cuddle. The animals in Whitbread’s oil-paint illustrations have wonderfully expressive faces and body language that suit the story’s lighthearted tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

High-fives for a title you’ll want to embrace.