OVER IN THE JUNGLE

Name: OVER IN THE JUNGLE
Author: Marianne Berkes

by Marianne Berkes ; illustrated by Jeanette Canyon ; developed by Malachi Bazan ; Dawn Publications ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2013

Rich with learning experiences, Berkes’ book elegantly combines art, reading, counting and music with the natural sciences.

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Based on Berkes and Canyon’s 2007 book, this new interactive counting and sing-along app is a snazzy introduction to the fauna of the rain forest.

Centering around the lush and colorful illustrations, each page introduces a new species with information on how the animal parents care for their young and often revealing a bit about their environment: The poison dart frogs appear in the bromeliads so important to their survival, for instance. The text is written in rhyme to fit the familiar tune and can be heard sung or read by the author; there is also a “Read to Myself” mode. Simple animations allow readers to set the animal babies in motion. Butterflies flutter and marmosets swing, each in their own stratum of the jungle. Emphasizing the many layers of habitat in the rain forest, the appended “Find the Babies” counting game shows where in the jungle each of the species makes its home. Further information on each animal, plus photos, follows, as do bios of each of the creators. The illustrator’s discussion of her techniques should appeal to young artists. It’s not quite as flawlessly interactive as the developer’s previous app, Over in the Ocean (2012); there are some bugs with page turns, and background music and jungle sounds often don’t play in “Read to Myself” mode.

Rich with learning experiences, Berkes’ book elegantly combines art, reading, counting and music with the natural sciences. (iPad informational app. 3-8)

Pub Date: March 6, 2013

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dawn Publications

Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013

- BOOK REVIEW
OVER ON A DESERT
by Marianne Berkes ; illustrated by Jill Dubin

- BOOK REVIEW
BABY ON BOARD
by Marianne Berkes ; illustrated by Cathy Morrison

- BOOK REVIEW
OVER IN THE GRASSLANDS
by Marianne Berkes ; illustrated by Jill Dubin

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MEI MEI THE BUNNY

by Laufey ; illustrated by Lauren O'Hara ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 2026

A reassuring riff on embracing imperfections.

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A young rabbit frets about her upcoming violin performance in Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey’s literary debut.

Mei Mei’s dream—“to share her music with the world”—is about to come true. She’s having her very first recital, complete with an orchestra, at the H’Opera House. But the day before the concert, Mei Mei is racked with anxiety. What if she plays a bum note in front of everyone? Sure enough, the worst happens mid-performance: She hits a clinker. But by remembering her mom’s reassuring sentiments from the night before (“Feel the wind…find the notes to make it right”), Mei Mei summons the strength to soldier on, and “wrong notes become right. Dissonance becomes beautiful.” At times, it all feels more like a resilience parable than a story, and the writing can be precious (“The flutter of butterflies wakes Mei Mei from her slumber”). Still, the message is solid, bolstered by O’Hara’s pencil and watercolor illustrations, which are plush-toy soft—fitting, as even prior to this book’s publication, a stuffed Mei Mei has been for sale at Grammy winner Laufey’s website. The tale features an all-animal, all-adorable cast, and endearingly, the art betrays no hint of modern times. A standout image presents Mei Mei onstage, temporarily incapacitated by her mistake and imagining her fellow musicians and their instruments with the color-blasted menace of an expressionist painting.

A reassuring riff on embracing imperfections. (author’s note, glossary) (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: April 21, 2026

ISBN: 9798217051748

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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OTIS

From the Otis series

by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009

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Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)