The Jungle Run

PreS-Gr 1—When Cub wants to join in the Jungle Run, the other creatures say that she's too small. However, the race is through an obstacle course, and, at each impediment, her size lets her easily pull ahead. At the waterslide, elephant tumbles off his mat and takes a tangle of animals with him, but Cub manages to avoid the mess and finishes first. "The race is over and Cub has won. But they all joined in/and they all had fun!" Mitton's rhyming text, though occasionally strained, conveys the exuberance of the participants. The color, motion, facial expressions, and detail in the illustrations bring the story to life. Readers will enjoy seeing the disparate animals in surprising situations and will, of course, be rooting for the smallest one throughout. The end pages have a map of the course and may encourage some youngsters to design their own.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH