Once Upon a Jungle

by Laura Knowles, James Boast (Illustrator)

A colorful jungle of animals depicts the circle of life.

Enter the jungle with this striking book that animates the food chain through saturated color illustrations and simple poetic language. Children will learn how the circle of life fuels the jungle ecosystem, supporting life up the food chain only to start again literally at ground level. Young readers will enjoy exploring the illustrations for the many animals hiding between and under the leaves and flowers and in the treetops.

The book closes with an expansive gatefold showing all of the animals from the previous pages, and many more, all hiding and waiting to be spotted. Text entitled -Living World- explains the circle of life and the ecological link between animals, earth, air, water, and all that supports the world we live in.

Once Upon a Jungle's atmospheric illustrations, large text, and double gatefold will make this a surefire hit with children, especially early readers and for story time.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Childrens, Animals, Science, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once Upon a Jungle is a book I might not have chosen to read had it not been for the cover. The green leaves and bright flowers with animal hiding amongst them drew me in. It was like finding Waldo without the challenge.

I had to tear my eyes away from James Boart's beautiful and colorful illustrations to read the words. I liked how the animals blended in with the foliage with eyes peeking out here and there.

I believe Once Upon a Junk was written not only for children but for adults too.

[Kathryn]

The illustrations are beautiful and it’s an interesting way to introduce the food chain. Note for sensitive young readers that, given the subject, there are plenty of animals eating and being eaten and an old panther who dies (off page) and we later see the bones of its leg and paw under the soil. I know this would have bothered me when I was picture book age but it’s subtle enough that many children will probably be fine with it.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the way the life cycle was so beautifully portrayed and illustrated!

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher at an ALA Conference.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made the food chain interesting.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright, colorful and graphic illustrations reminiscent of Rousseau. Simple story about the food chain. Smart and beautiful.

[Micha O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb non-fiction read for preschoolers! With its bright illustrations and simple, interconnected text, this book is both compelling and informative. Pull out pages at the end provide further information on the food chain and challenges readers to search the book for multiple elements. Highly recommended

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bright, bold book of the jungle food chain. Lots of critters for little kids to look at and for on every page. Nicely told tale. Good book for teaching the food chain and life cycle to young kids. Nice addition to a science collection for young ones.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

With its large stunning illustrations and rhythmic text, this nonfiction picture book would be great for story times. A fold out provides a view of the jungle landscape and some information about the food chain.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very attractive book that is useful in introducing the food chain and the cycle of life.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning illustrations of the rain forest jungle showcase the many animals that live there and their food webs. Great book for introducing food chains.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cool way for kids to learn about the life cycle.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to food chains.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I could make this non-fiction book work for storytime. It is short and has a repetitious element.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snagged it because it was a quick readaloud with beautiful illustrations. Loved it so much more when I got to the backmatter!

[Casandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool book about animal life in a jungle.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This clever picture book uses the phrase “once upon a time” to set in motion the food cycle in a rainforest. “Once upon” quickly turns to the animal being preyed upon, eaten or hunted. Ants are eaten by a mantis who in turn is snacked on by a lizard who is hunted by a monkey. The animals get larger and larger as the book continues until finally there is an old panther. After that panther dies, he returns to the dirt where his body enriches the soil and new plants grow. Thanks to the simple phrasing, the book is fast paced and the structure allows readers to be surprised and fascinated. The book ends with an explanation of the jungle as a living habitat. The bright illustrations framed by the black backgrounds leap off of the page and offer a sense of peering through jungle leaves and vines to see what is happening. A very approachable and interesting book on food cycles. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this lovely and thought it would work well for introducing science to children (preschoolers?). It works as a picture book, with large words calling out specific parts of the gorgeous illustrations, and with subtle word play introducing the idea of a food chain from ants through jaguars, and then going on to include decomposition and growth. I found it simple yet sophisticated, and the final end paper notes would catch up any parent who finds themselves surprised by the discussion this could stimulate.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Laura Knowles has created another breathtaking, eye-absorbing book about the cycles of nature and natural habitats (See: It Starts with a Seed). In this case the drama of high-impact jewel-tones art engages with page after page of intricate habitat, startling perspectives, and charming word play. The life cycles are fully explored, (including decomposition, which is so often ignored). with some content expanded on the back side of the final foldout spread.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book jumped off the shelf at me with it's vibrant colours and illustrations. It is the simple story of the jungle food chain from ant through to the trees that grow from the rich soil. There is extra information at the conclusion of the story about the jungle food chain if people want to use it as a classroom resource, or it can simply be used as a picture book to share and find lots of interesting things in the illustrations.

[Kristi Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Large, colorful, blocky images depict the concepts of life cycles and food chains to young readers. A fold-out page in the back explains terms like producers, consumers, and decomposers. Wording is succinct but some pages require significant inference (death, decomposition). Overall, a good introduction to the jungle ecosystem and related biological concepts.

[Donna Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author explains the life cycle of nature in a very simple way, with beautiful illustrations by James Boast. Some younger students may be upset by the death of the panther and its subsequent devouring by bugs. Older students may enjoy the more detailed explanation of the life cycle in the back of the book. Budding young scientists and nature-lovers will enjoy this book.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The animals of the food chain stalk and prey upon one another, but even the mighty black panther must fall to the beetles. The food chain is explored in a way that preschoolers can understand. In the end notes, the concept of food chains is described in greater detail.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storytime Themes: Jungle, Nature

I picked this one for the Jungle Storytime because the text is simple, the colors are bright, and that image of the bugs decomposing the dead panther is pretty metal (for a kids' book, anyway)

[Bekka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book, but also want to be clear that it isn't for every child, or at least depending on what stage they are at/ how sensitive they are. This picture book has beautiful illustrations and sparse text and it offers young readers a realistic introduction to the food chain.

[Riegs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good intro to lifecycles and food chains.

[Michael Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Might be visually busy, but nature loving children would adore this book.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Kelly Risinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple baby and up colorful book about jungles animals. easy to follow and a quick read.