There's a rumble in the jungle
There's a whisper in the trees
The animals are waking up
And rustling the leaves.

From the outset this book is an open invitation for young children to enter the world of the jungle and experience this wonderful collection of animal poems. Written by Giles Andreae, one of Britain's bestselling modern poets and well known to many as Purple Ronnie, Rumble in the Jungle is cleverly illustrated by David Wojtowycz using vividly colourful and appealing sketches, making the whole book an amazing combination of works and colour and fun. (Age 4 and up) --Susan Naylor

2008-03-21 Fun but things I don't like

There are lots of positive reviews for this book and I know why. I like the illustrations as they are colourful and fun. The verse has an energy and snappiness about it that keeps things moving and the usual humour from Giles Andreae.

One thing I don't like is that most of the animals mentioned couldn't live in one jungle. Lions, tigers and panthers are likely to be in Africa, Asia and South America respectively. Some of the rhymes are very lazy like the one about the elephant that doesn't say much other than it likes elephing around. If you can't think what to say... make up a word! This would be great if that was a common technique within the book (like doctor seuss uses). But this is the only incident and I think it's weak. There are poor examples of grammar too.

However, I do like the book and my kids love it which is the final clincher I guess.

I wanted to add a bit of detail rather than it all being glowing 5 star reviews. I hope you enjoy the book! I'd give it 3.5 but not 4 stars.