MAX'S RAINFOREST ADVENTURE

Max, a satchel-bearing brown, tailed monkey, explores his rainforest home.

On these extra-thick board pages, Max meets Charlie the crocodile, James the jaguar, and Tyler the toucan. Each critter, along with Max, shares details from their lives and makes an associated sound: “SNAP!”; “ROAR!”; “CROAK!” In the end, Max journeys home to tell his friends and family about his adventures. This slight narrative is told through simple prose and easy dialogue. Waring’s whimsical animals are inviting, with oversized eyes and childlike appeal in muted colors. Max, refreshingly, is never played for a fool but instead navigates his environment with friendly confidence and greets each animal as an equal. Also refreshing is the care taken to include only animals found in one specific rainforest habitat, in this case a South American one, rather than jumbling them together from around the world. The different spreads bleed into one another with little indication they are not part of the same scene, which may confuse toddlers still learning book conventions. The format looks sturdy enough to withstand rough play. The full-size illustration of Max, shaped to look like his body, on the cover will appeal to the core audience.

A sturdy choice for toddler animal lovers with endearing art and a slight story.