A JUNGLE JUMBLE

Unravelled, the jumble seems rather pointless. All the animals of a jungle in Costa Rica meet together to choose a chief to lead them when the hunting season opens. The election appears to be deadlocked, until eventually a wild dog proves his capacity for the position leading the dogs of a hunting expedition off on a false scent. The author and illustrator have previously done The Golden Frog, Ride the Cold Wind and The Burning Mountain, all of which had simple but much more dramatic texts than this. Fisher's pictures are among his best however. Etched in alternating shades of maroon, green and blue, they convey the idea of a dense, mysterious jungle, and the well-executed tropical animals show much more personality than is offered in the story.