I'm the Scariest Thing in the Jungle!

by David G. Derrick Jr.

"Dave Derrick has created a fantastic picture book that is entertaining, informative, and laugh out loud funny. When you add in his expertly drawn gestural illustrations, you have, simply, perfection. I wish I had thought of this!"—Chris Van Dusen, illustrator of Kate DiCamillo's Mercy Watson book series

"Dave's curiosity for the natural world is always obvious to me in his work, and he transfers that love for life to who ever chances upon it. His drawings and compositions show the wonder of the natural world, while his humor and his story layer it with life."—Matt Nolte, Pixar

"David conveys movement and life in his pieces through strong poses and powerful gestures."—Artists for Conservation

In India the Bengal tiger is the king of the land. But the giant saltwater crocodile is the ruler of the water. What happens when the kids of these fearsome beasts meet?

Let's get ready to rumble!

These animals sing their own version of Anything You Can Scare, I Can Scare Better!

The tiger cub and little croc joust in a witty war of words. In a playful game of one-upmanship, they top each other's boasts of who owns the most frightening canines, claws, and capabilities.

Climbing trees and swimming circles around each other, they are truly well-matched adversaries. But will these terrible tykes discover someone even scarier than them? No elephant is waiting around to find out the answer! Enjoy an eye-opening adventure, illustrated by a veteran DreamWorks Animation artist.

David G. Derrick, Jr., lives in Valencia, California.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, India, Humor

36 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jessica Adams Duzan]

Oh my goodness!!! This book is amazing!!! Crocodile and Alligator are in a competition to see who is the scariest animal in the jungle. They trash talk each other to no end. Crocodile can hide in the water and has sharp teeth. Tiger can hide in the grass and has sharp claws. However, at the end of the book they both discover that there is someone scarier than them...Mom!!

[Crystal]

I took a star off because of the ad-libbing I had to do. If I was reading it with a small group that could see the colors of the font then they probably wouldn't have gotten the back and forth but since it was a large group I kept having to add in "said the tiger" or "the crocodile said" in order for them to get who had started to speak since a few of the things applied to both animals. (Like the talk of sharp teeth, etc.) But otherwise it was great. Even the kids who knew who was sneaking up on the animals giggled a little bit when they found out they were right.

[Vicki]

A tiger cob and a crocodile face off, both claiming they are the scariest thing in the jungle. I like how children will learn about the different characteristics and things that crocodiles and tigers make them the same yet different.

The field guide in the endpapers in the front and the back give additional information on jungle animals for those students interested.

[Jennifer]

A young crocodile faces off with a tiger cub, arguing who's the scariest. The illustrations are great, but I'm not a huge fan of them screaming at each other. Definitely appropriate for story time, just know you might need to address the arguing.

[Emerson]

Those faces!

[Cynthia Strobel]

Loved the book. The illustrations are done in water-color. It involves a baby crocodile and baby tiger. Their attics will delight you.

[Syntha Green]

Would be great to do with a second reader

[Karen]

My kids favorite line “my MAMA is the scariest thing in the jungle” not sure if that’s a compliment, but each kid took a turn reading the book even the non readers and did great at retelling it.

[Villain E]

A young tiger and a young crocodile argue over which of them is the scariest animal in the jungle. Good gestural cartoony art. Some interesting facts. The text gets a bit clunky.

[J.M. Knight]

Personally I think ticks are the scariest thing in the jungle

[Anna Youssef]

The tiger is the king of the jungle, and the crocodile is the king of the water. When the two meet, they each boast that they are the best at everything. Climbing trees, and swimming circles in the river, they try to figure out who is the scariest. Little do they know, that something else much bigger than them might scare themselves. This book is great because the students get to learn about tigers and crocodiles, as well as other animals in the jungle. This book is so funny for me, and the kids that I babysit. It is definitely a great read!

[Erik This Kid Reviews Books]

Summary- The two GREATEST BEASTS in India face-off in a one-up competition to figure out just who is the scariest thing in the jungle. These pint-sized predators try to show the other why they are the scariest thing! But when they lose sight of their mommies the little tiger and baby alligator figure out there may be something even more scary than themselves.

Opinion- First off, the illustrations are beautiful (I think they are water-color)! I love the illustrations with the other animals watching the two predator babies – argue. :) Besides the awesome illustrations, the book is written very well. The conversation between the alligator and tiger really sounds like two kids fighting about who is the best. I like the bragging between the alligator and the tiger – it gets pretty fun! The ending was really nice. I like the sweetness of it and how it shows that even the toughest of predators need their moms. :) The end pages are really nice too. There are illustrations of all the animals in the book together, nice touch. Also the bragging and illustrations teach kids about tigers and alligators (things like the tiger’s camouflage and the alligator’s tough skin).
*NOTE I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Sharon Tyler]

I'm the Scariest Thing in the Jungle! is a picturebook written and illustrated by David G. Derrick Jr. It is scheduled for release on October 8 2013. In India, the Bengal tiger is the king of the land while the giant saltwater crocodile is the king of the water. When the kids of these two fearsome beasts meet they compete to see who is really the scariest thing in the jungle. In their back and forth they discover just who rules their home.

I'm the Scariest Thing in the Jungle! is a fun story about two young animals playing 'Anything You Can Scare, I Can Scare Better!'. The tiger cub and little crocodile exchange witty words and compare their skills. They are truly well-matched adversaries, and their competition is great fun to witness. Of course, my favorite part is when a shadow looms and they discover who really rules their worlds.

I highly recommend I'm the Scariest Thing in the Jungle! for school, home, and library collections. The story is fun and engaging while sneaking in a bit of education about life in the jungles of India.The illustrations are cute and bold, perfectly matching the humor and adventure of the story.

[Joella]

A young crocodile and a young tiger are stopped when their mothers start talking while at a waterhole. The young croc decides to scare the young tiger cub and declares that “I’m the SCARIEST THING in the jungle!” Of course the cub disagrees with the crocodile. Then each youngster goes on to tell the other just exactly why they are scarier than the other. Of course they get so caught up in telling each other why they are scary that soon they find they are alone and their mothers are nowhere in sight. To top it off, something is coming…and they are just a wee bit scared. Thankfully in the end they both agree that the scariest thing in the jungle really is their moms.

This is a fun story about two of the most feared animals in the jungle. Of course the looks on their faces as they scare each other and how they show off is just as hilarious as the fact that these two animals might be arguing over who is the “scariest” animal. And young children who know the power of their moms will like the ending where they both come to an agreement as to what is truly scary.

[Alysa Dail]

The tiger is the king of the jungle, but the crocodile is the ruler of the water. When a young tiger cub and crocodile wander off from their mothers, a witty-war of words takes place as each fights to prove the he, indeed, is the scariest thing in the jungle! This book provides a clever and humorous "Anything you can do I can do better" plot with an unexpected ending. Will these two young ones actually encounter something scarier them the both of them??


*Both the tiger cub and little crocodile boast about their multiple capabilities, so a fun activity to do with children after reading this story could be to have the kids come up with their own list of things that they are good at. Have them write them down and pick the one that they are the best at/or is their favorite, and then the following week you can have a show and tell! The kids can each bring an item from home that represents that capability/talent/skill/hobby, etc. and talk about it to the class.


Derrick, D. G. (2013). I'm the Scariest Thing in the Jungle!. San Francisco: Immedium, Inc..

[The Styling Librarian]

I’m the Scariest Thing in the Jungle by David G. Derrick, Jr.: This book is a lovely combination of descriptive text, cute characters, and information about the animals. I just love the rivalry between the tiger and the crocodile… it is humorous and oh so cute as a combination at the same time. I think that as a teacher I really appreciate the dialogue between the characters. I would use it as an example of how to mix in information into dialogue in addition to discussing how there is a fun whip-smart argument that occurs through the book. The illustrations additionally bring this book to life in a surprising way, with a combination of fierce creatures warning you to stay away but simultaneously the characters are quite cute. What a pleasure to read… I also love the end page images since they introduce the variety of animals that are part of the story illustration’s background.

[Trish]

This is a perfect book for story time. A tiger cub and a crocodile baby try to one-up each other on why they are the scariest animal in the Indian jungle. The end pages include sketches of other Indian animals. Unlike some "jungle" books for young children, this one has the appropriate animals living in the same eco-system, rather than lions and tigers living together. The illustrations and the language used just beg to have this book read aloud. I will be adding it to my story time lists.

[Melanie Hetrick]

When a young crocodile and a young tiger encounter each other at a river in their native land of India, an immediate contest of one-upmanship ensues. Each child is convinced that their particular attributes make them the scariest thing in the jungles of India.

However, when both are backed into a corner and are over shadowed by 2 rather large things, they decide that they don't have to be the fiercest things in the jungle. Their mothers are.

[Lindsay]

What pushed this rating from 3 stars to 4 was the final page. Hilarious! Little crocodile and tiger are boasting and one-upping, adding one feat a page to their list of achievements, until they lost track of their moms. Help! The watercolor illustrations are full of character. Fun for two storytellers.

[Scott]

Adorable illustrations really make this book. The text is fun, about a young tiger and crocodile squaring off to prove which is scarier. Throw in a surprise ending about who really is scariest, and you've got a charming book.

[Madi]

Very adorable book about a tiger and crocodile arguing over which is the scariest in the jungle. Great book to teach children about animal camouflage and other facts about tigers and crocodiles. The ending is simply adorable.

[Michael]

Two pint-sized, would be top predators claim the thrown in wild India. Tooth and claw, stalk and pounce, who is scariest of all?
For more great Picture Books for little guys, see: http://www.talestoldtall.com/B4BPictu...

[Samantha]

A baby alligator and a baby tiger argue about the traits that make them the scariest animals in the jungle, though both fear their mighty mothers.

This book reminded Shark vs. Train and would be a funny read aloud or even adapted puppet show. PreK-2.

[Lisa]

Cute story about bravado in youth. A young crocodile and tiger try to prove they are 'the scariest thing' in the jungles of India. Only to find out they've got a little more growing up to do. Animated and heartwarming, this brought a smile to my face.

[Miss Sarah]

I love the ending tot his book about a tiger and a crocodile arguing over who is the scariest thing in the jungle. The text is all spoken between the two animals and color coded but I add said by to each lien to help the kids. Laugh out loud ending.

[Mandy]

(3.5 stars)

[Sarah]

http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2...

[Barbara]

This is a clever story about a baby croc and tiger that try to outdo each other by saying how fierce they are. That bravado disappears the minute they see something scary.

[Elizabeth]

This is a WONDERFUL book. The art is great, the story is enchanting. Perfect for Jungle ST. Or Jungle Animals.

[Paula]

"A bengal tiger cub and little crocodile vie for bragging rights about who is the scariest animal in their Indian jungle"-- Provided by publisher.