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Jaguarundi
Although all the other animals also feel threatened by the encroachment of humans, only Rundi and Coati journey northward in search of a safer place to live. Reissue.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1997
About the author
Virginia Hamilton
145 books276 followersVirginia Esther Hamilton was the author of forty-one works of fiction and nonfiction. She was the first Black writer awarded the Newbery Medal and the first children's writer to be named a MacArthur Fellow (the "Genius" grant). She also received the National Book Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 31, 2025
Yes indeed, Floyd Cooper's artwork for Jaguarundi is visually and aesthetically stunning and his painterly illustrations definitely show a very nice combination of lushly rendered imagination and realism (a bit dark and overly blurry at times, to be sure, although I am not really all that sure if this scenario might not actually be due to me having read a scanned digital copy of Jaguarundi online).
And strictly thematically speaking, I also very much appreciate the ecological and animal conservation messages textually provided by author Virginia Hamilton in Jaguarundi, namely that many of the animal species of Central and South America (like for example the Jaguarundi feline of the book title) are becoming increasingly rare and are regularly threatened by habitat loss and other types of human encroachment and behaviour (that many Central and South American animal species and groups are in fact disappearing and also often must vacate their native ecosystems and relocate elsewhere if they are to have any chance of survival, since they are being callously and deliberately pushed out and bowled over by pollution, logging, industry etc.).
And combined with the fact that at the back of Jaguarundi, Virginia Hamilton also is including supplemental scientific and ecological details on each of the featured animal species (albeit a bit annoyingly without a list of titles for further study and reading), for all intents and purposes, Jaguarundi really should be a great picture book about ecology, environmental degradation and that the animals of Central and South America majorly need conservation and survival support and help.
But yes, there is a very specific reason why I am pointing out that Jaguarundi SHOULD be a great picture book since for me and in my humble opinion, Jaguarundi actually is not AT ALL that. For while I of course do appreciate the internal and external conservation and ecological messages provided in Jaguarundi, that Virginia Hamilton has made her text annoyingly anthropomorphic, with the presented threatened animals both speaking and generally behaving like humans, for me (who has never enjoyed anthropomorphism in especially children's literature), what should be a realistic and heartbreaking account of threatened and vulnerable animals becomes instead majorly frustrating and also annoyingly unrealistic, even fairy tale like (and which for me tends to rather majorly lessen Virginia Hamilton's important and necessary ecological messages, since aside from the animals species in Jaguarundi being too human-like and talking, predator and prey species are also depicted by Virginia Hamilton as being friendly with one another, chatting with one another and basically acting like they are all good friends, and thus for me totally in fact destroying any and all sense of actual realism and also making me only consider but two stars as a rating for Jaguarundi and to only recommend it with major caveats and reservations).
And strictly thematically speaking, I also very much appreciate the ecological and animal conservation messages textually provided by author Virginia Hamilton in Jaguarundi, namely that many of the animal species of Central and South America (like for example the Jaguarundi feline of the book title) are becoming increasingly rare and are regularly threatened by habitat loss and other types of human encroachment and behaviour (that many Central and South American animal species and groups are in fact disappearing and also often must vacate their native ecosystems and relocate elsewhere if they are to have any chance of survival, since they are being callously and deliberately pushed out and bowled over by pollution, logging, industry etc.).
And combined with the fact that at the back of Jaguarundi, Virginia Hamilton also is including supplemental scientific and ecological details on each of the featured animal species (albeit a bit annoyingly without a list of titles for further study and reading), for all intents and purposes, Jaguarundi really should be a great picture book about ecology, environmental degradation and that the animals of Central and South America majorly need conservation and survival support and help.
But yes, there is a very specific reason why I am pointing out that Jaguarundi SHOULD be a great picture book since for me and in my humble opinion, Jaguarundi actually is not AT ALL that. For while I of course do appreciate the internal and external conservation and ecological messages provided in Jaguarundi, that Virginia Hamilton has made her text annoyingly anthropomorphic, with the presented threatened animals both speaking and generally behaving like humans, for me (who has never enjoyed anthropomorphism in especially children's literature), what should be a realistic and heartbreaking account of threatened and vulnerable animals becomes instead majorly frustrating and also annoyingly unrealistic, even fairy tale like (and which for me tends to rather majorly lessen Virginia Hamilton's important and necessary ecological messages, since aside from the animals species in Jaguarundi being too human-like and talking, predator and prey species are also depicted by Virginia Hamilton as being friendly with one another, chatting with one another and basically acting like they are all good friends, and thus for me totally in fact destroying any and all sense of actual realism and also making me only consider but two stars as a rating for Jaguarundi and to only recommend it with major caveats and reservations).
July 29, 2008
In this beautifully illustrated book, Rundi Jaguarundi and Coati Coatimundi decide to leave their increasingly built-up, vanishing natural habitat and find a new place to live. Much of the book is taken up by a description of a meeting at which various animals debate whether to stay or go. I felt that section could have used much more specific detail, especially given the book's young audience, and the fact that the book seems to be a "message" book -- the message ends up being a little unclear. The ending is unequivocally happy, though, and the illustrations really do make this book worth a look.
April 28, 2012
Reading Rainbow: The Salamander Room
Very annoying to read!
Very annoying to read!
December 22, 2021
Animals debate whether they should find a new home when their habitat begins shrinking.
Lovely illustrations, not my kind of story.
Lovely illustrations, not my kind of story.
September 5, 2017
The book is another good example of animal folk-tales from Virginia Hamilton. I like that the back of the book has an index of animals to help kids learn more about the characters in the book. The paintings by Floyd Cooper are beautiful. My only issue with the book is that it is so thin and flimsey that it is easily bent and damaged.
July 11, 2025
Beautiful and heartbreaking with powerful illustrations.
February 9, 2012
"In memory of Earth's animals no longer here, and in praise of those that still survive" says the dedication of this beautiful book. This is the story from the perspective of wildlife about the atrocious impact of human appropriation of the rainforest. A jaguarundi and a coatimundi are thinking about leaving their home and look for a safer place to live. The human has destroyed the rainforest and has made pineapple fields on the land; as a result of this, the animals feel threatened and have a discussion about whether to leave or not. Every page delights the reader with rich illustrations of the rainforest animals who live with Rundi Jaguarundi. A total of seventeen animals are shown in the story, and at the end of the story there are some facts about each of them. I highly recommend this book to study about biology, conservation, and economy. Suggested age: 8 or older.
November 23, 2013
I have a signed copy of this book from when Floyd Cooper, the illustrator visited my children's school many years ago. Beautifully crafted both in story and illustration. Adding this one to my social studies unit on how people change the land in positive and negative ways.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews