WHEN FRED THE SNAKE AND FRIENDS GO CAMPING

In this installment of Cotton’s picture-book series, a group of animal and human friends experience the fun, adventure, and occasional perils of camping.

Fred, an affable-looking, big-headed, striped, yellow-and-maroon snake, is called upon to choose the next outing for a high-spirited cohort of characters including Bernadette, a second snake; fair-skinned youths Jack and Perdy; ponytailed, mustachioed, safari-suit-wearing Jim; the dog Coco; and a giraffe, parrots, and a monkey. Fred suggests they go camping in the mountains, and so they pack a big red vehicle and head off. The friends set up camp, hike through the jungle, hang-glide from the mountain, and paddle a float downriver…before tipping over a waterfall and climbing back to safety with help from a ranger, a rope ladder, and Fred tying himself in knots. Back at camp, they cook a feast, sing campfire songs, and go to sleep. Cotton narrates in rhyming couplets whose choppy rhythms accentuate the exploratory, extemporized feel of the story: “After resting and a swim, they all followed jungle Jim / up the mountain, wouldn’t you? They got a most / impressive view.” The text is set in a dense, bold, and rather knotty font, which may prove challenging to new readers. Lemaire’s two-page-spread, cartoon-style illustrations capture the unruly energy and carefree exuberance of the group, offering plenty of diversion for young eyes.

Colorful and chaotic.