If I Were a Jungle Animal

 

Bibliographic Information: Ellery, T. & Ellery, A. (2009). If I were a jungle animal. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

 

Genre/Type: Fiction picture book

 

Summary: In this book, Morton is an outfielder on a baseball team. He doesn't think the ball will ever comes to him, and wishes he were somewhere more exciting. Morton begins to daydream about what it would be like to live in the jungle. He imagines himself as a lion, a monkey, a giraffe, a zebra, a parrot, and a hippo, but he finds problems with being all of these animals. Morton then decides he could be a walrus, only to realize that walruses don't live in the jungle! Morton is awaken from his daydream and brought back into the baseball game as the ball comes at him and he catches it. 

 

Theme/Purpose: The purpose of this book is to allow the reader to see some of the animals that live in the jungle and their lifestyle. Through the pictures, the reader can interpret why Morton does not want to be various animals; whether it be because all the animals are afraid of the lion, or because crocodiles live in the water that the hippo swims in. This book allows the reader to get a glimpse into the life of the jungle, while at the same time revealing the pros and cons of daydreaming. 

 

Selection/Evaluation: I chose this book because it is not an obvious choice. While this book does not spell out "these are the characteristics of lions", "these are the characteristics of giraffes and why they have such long necks," it allows the reader to infer these things through an analysis of both illustrations and text. This book is an entertaining one that kids can relate to because it is goofy and come on, what kid hasn't dreamt of being an animal?