SLITHERY JAKE

When Sid finds a snake and brings it home, he names him Jake, but family hysteria ensues when Jake escapes from his box. Each family member mistakenly sees the snake: Pa sits on a hot dog and thinks it’s Jake; Grandma faints when a stew noodle looks like you-know-who; the dog yelps at the twitching cat’s tale. When assorted food goodies don’t coax Jake out of hiding, Pa decides they’ll camp outside until he’s found. But where would an escaped snake go? Outside, of course; there they find Jake stretched out in the hammock. The quirky watercolor illustrations match the frenzy and capture the chaos of the rhyming story related by Sid with exaggerated expressions adding to the fun. An enticing cover, good title, and funny family will slither the tale into popularity. (Picture book. 4-7)