Tiger and Leopard are having an all-out jungle quarrel about whether stripes or spots are best. More members of the jungle weigh in and try to sort out the crazy fight with an innovative resolution.
I’m liking
This is one super colourful book. A lot is happening in the pages, there are lots of cute images of jungle animals (and even David Attenborough makes an appearance). There are quite a few chuckles hidden in the text but they are perhaps a bit subtle/over the head of the target audience.
Some of the pages have fold out lift-a-flaps, so you have a veritable panorama of exciting jungle images to explore. My 4 year old eagerly anticipates the pages with the flaps, it’s clearly the most exciting part of the book in his opinion.
Things that made me go hmmmm
I struggle to work out exactly what age group will really get the most from the story. The pictures are fun for those who are young, but the storyline (I have explained to my son what ‘cease fire’ means as a result of reading the book and now it gets used during an argument! Still, some of the concepts of one-upmanship and fashion are over his head) is a little bit to complex for him to really follow. However, there aren’t that many words, and a lot of the text is dialogue which is actually additional to the story itself, so it’s not a straightforward, read-aloud type book either. Perhaps an early reader would manage to work it out with a bit of guidance. It hasn’t become a fast favourite in our house, but it is something we have flicked through together a few times.
The conclusion
It’s a bright, colourful fun ride through the jungle, but not one that we take often.
Stripes! No, Spots! by Vasanti Unka is published by Puffin New Zealand. RRP $25.00.
