by April Reynolds (Author) Katie Kordesh (Illustrator)
This ferociously fun read-aloud--perfect for bedtime or anytime--begins with a can't-settle-down boy who spends his naptime with wild animals that have leapt off the pages of his favorite book, and ends with a sleepy boy all played out!
Sam is not ready for naptime. Momma says he has ants in his pants and that he must calm down, but Sam says "NOOOOOO!" and flies off to his bedroom. He flips open his favorite book--African Wildlife--and out jumps a herd of gazelles...followed by a pride of lions...and then a zeal of zebras. And that's just the beginning! How can Sam ever be expected to take a nap?! Amidst all the jumping and stalking and striding and prowling comes a sound louder than any other-- GRROOWWL! It's Sam's tummy, and it scares those ants right out of his pants. It must be time for a snack. But after such a wild day, how can Sam ever be expected to stay awake?!
WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
Just before nap time one afternoon, Sam bounces around his Black-presenting family's kitchen before being sent to bed. Shutting his bedroom door tight, Sam opens African Wildlife, his favorite book. But like the famous protagonist of Where the Wild Things Are, Sam finds his read even more boisterous than his mood. When out of the pages spring a whole menagerie of savanna inhabitants, Reynolds gives each one a crowd-pleasing sound effect: a troop of baboons who "smacked their lips and narrowed their eyes and kept their ears back" says "Hoo! Hoo!" As fantasies go, the events are a mixed blessing. Sam gets to dance with a leap of leopards, but the crash of rhinos slobber on his sneakers; in one comically choreographed ink and watercolor image by Kordesh, Sam's head barely emerges from what looks like an ongoing stampede. The animals finally clear the room when they hear Sam's growling tummy, and the sleepy but unapologetic boy heads downstairs and promptly falls asleep at the dinner table, clutching an armful of animal stuffies. Wild animal aficionados should find enough to keep them purring in this double debut about a wild adventure come home. Ages 4-8. (June)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.