by Julia Donaldson (Author) Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator)
Two of the world's most celebrated picture book creators, Julia Donaldson and Helen Oxenbury, team up for the first time in this jaunty animal fable for fans of Room on the Broom and We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
Rabbit arrives home one day to hear a loud voice coming from inside his burrow:
"I'm the Giant Jumperee and I'm scary as can be!" shouts the stranger. Rabbit's friends Cat, Bear, and Elephant come to help, but they're no match for the mysterious, booming voice. But who is the Giant Jumperee? Find out in this new read-aloud classic from internationally bestselling author Julia Donaldson, beautifully brought to life by award-winning illustrator Helen Oxenbury.WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
Rabbit, Cat, Bear, and Elephant are afraid of a voice coming out of Rabbit’s burrow, but Mama Frog solves the mystery.
“Rabbit was hopping home one day when he heard a loud voice…: ‘I’m the GIANT JUMPEREE and I’m scary as can be!’ ” A gentle, pastel-hued watercolor setting lies behind the upright, taken-aback Rabbit on verso and the grassy entrance to his burrow on recto. When Rabbit cries for help, Cat (a female) volunteers to “slink inside and pounce”—until the voice calls out again, repeating “I’m the GIANT JUMPEREE and I’ll squash you like a flea!” As each of the aforementioned animals goes to the next one for help, they all stay near the burrow, anxiously awaiting the appearance of the voice’s mysterious owner, which issues a different rhyming threat with each new encounter. Mama Frog uses a technique that many preschoolers will recognize: she counts to three to make the Giant Jumperee leave Rabbit’s burrow. The gleeful, unrepentant culprit is sure to make children giggle—then pause with Mama Frog’s response. The text’s tone, plot, and repetitions are perfect for the youngest readers. The artwork is a masterful match, with humorous, exquisitely rendered body language and facial expressions. Each time there is tension, the art and text of the following page relieves it. The final, wordless double-page spread is a joyous affirmation of life and friendship.
A winner for libraries everywhere: home, public, day care, preschool, and school. (Picture book. 3-6)Some unseen ghoul or monster is occupying Rabbit's burrow. "I'm the Giant Jumperee," it announces from inside, "and I'm scary as can be!" Rabbit's pals each offer to rout the villain, but the Giant Jumperee knows exactly which anxiety button to push (Bear is told "I'll sting you like a bee!") and they retreat. That leaves Mama Frog, who employs the most powerful weapon in a mother's arsenal: counting to three. Out bounces her very own Baby Frog ("Hello, Mama! I'm the Giant Jumperee!"), elated and unapologetic at having snookered the grownups. It's as slight as a story can be, but Donaldson knows that less really can be more, and her straightforward, occasionally rhyming narration is all the setup her peerless collaborator needs. Oxenbury paints Mama Frog as a don't-mess-with-me matriarch whose decisive physicality--hands planted on hips, belly thrust forward, eyes focused like a laser--instantly establishes her as a force to be reckoned with. That she turns a bit sheepish when her offspring is revealed to be the source of the hubbub (her look heavenward is priceless) just makes her more of a superstar. Ages 3-5. (Apr.)
Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Julia Donaldson served as the UK Children's Laureate from 2011 to 2013 and has written many bestselling and beloved children's books, including The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and Stick Man. She lives in West Sussex in the south of the UK.