Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
ABC Animal Jamboree
Illustrator: David Wojtowycz
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Tiger Tales, 2012 ISBN: 978-1589254367
Animals come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. Some, like the angelfish, are “gorgeous and lovely,” while others have a more homely appearance. The elephant, for example, is “big and fat and round” and the giraffe is “gangly.” Both of these animals are quite happy with their lives though, content to be as they are.
They are not the only ones to feel this way. Frogs “may be green and slimy” but they are superlative jumpers and they are proud of their ability. Then there is a jellyfish who loves to “jiggle.” The other sea creatures think that this behavior is “quite dumb” but the jellyfish does not care. Jiggling might not be a very useful thing to be able to do, but it is “lots of good fun.”
In this delightful collection of short poems, we meet twenty-six animals, one for every letter of the alphabet. Some of the animals, like the monkey and the rhinoceros, will be familiar to young readers, while others, like the narwhal and umbrella bird, are more exotic. Some of the poems are informative, and many are funny. Paired with David Wojtowycz’s bold and colorful paintings, the poems are a splendid alphabetical treat.
