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Walking Through the Jungle
Join a fearless young explorer as she encounters different animals and terrains of the world and makes it home for supper, safe and sound. The Music CD is bursting with fun animal sounds and the book is vibrant and imaginative. Together they make a wonderful gift or learning tool.
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
5 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Stella Blackstone
174 books38 followersSee also: Tessa Strickland
Tessa Strickland is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of independent children’s publisher Barefoot Books. As Stella Blackstone, she has written many bestselling picture books for children. As an editor, she has worked with authors and illustrators all over the world.
—from http://www.arvon.org/tutors/tessa-str...
Tessa Strickland is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of independent children’s publisher Barefoot Books. As Stella Blackstone, she has written many bestselling picture books for children. As an editor, she has worked with authors and illustrators all over the world.
—from http://www.arvon.org/tutors/tessa-str...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 9, 2012
A young girl exploring the jungle... What does she see? A great story book for young children to join in with. Early years and KS1 love this story book. They enjoy going on a mission through the jungle and facing the animals they do. Children find this book engaging, they like joining in and making animal sounds as and when they come across each animal in the jungle. Children also enjoyed reading allowed the phrases that repeat within the story book such as; ‘walking through the jungle, what do you see?’
I found the book links in great with topics of animals and the rainforest within early years and KS1. There was much to work with in a PE lesson, dance and drama. This story book is also translated in Somali and is a great tool for EAL children with Somali as their first language. It enables them to get involved in the lesson and take part. Along with the colorful illustrations this story book is full of an exciting adventure.
I found the book links in great with topics of animals and the rainforest within early years and KS1. There was much to work with in a PE lesson, dance and drama. This story book is also translated in Somali and is a great tool for EAL children with Somali as their first language. It enables them to get involved in the lesson and take part. Along with the colorful illustrations this story book is full of an exciting adventure.
March 12, 2014
This is really just an illustrated sleeve for a Fred Penner song. As a book in and of itself, it's a disappointment.
November 18, 2023
I read the Italian one and again was disappointed in the translation. However the illustrations were gorgeous.
September 6, 2013
Walking through the jungle is about young explorer who adventures through the different terrains of the world meeting all kinds of animals on her way.
This brilliant picture book is full of brightly coloured illustrations with a simple catchy rhythm and rhyme with extensive use of repetitive language that will encourage children widely to read and sing along.
This highly inclusive and entertaining book is a must read for so many. In particular children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), English as an Additional Language (EAL), and children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) through to children in Year 1 will love this book.
It aids language development by introducing vocabulary and supports basic sentence structure through the use of nouns, verbs and categorisation to children in a fun, repetitive, and rhythmical manner with clearly illustrated images to further support language production and comprehension.
‘Walking through the Jungle’ has been published in many other languages alongside English to promote inclusion and English language skills in children with EAL. This has other advantages for all primary aged children trying to learn another language such as French or German in a fun and accessible way as part of their Modern Foreign Language lessons in school.
I have used this book extensively for many years, particularly with children with SEN to develop play, attention and listening and communication skills. This book can be made highly inclusive by asking children to comment on what they see in the pictures. Children can vocalise their thoughts whilst pointing to the image (in any language), or use various forms of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) such as Picture Exchange Communication System (PECs) or Proloquo2Go, Makaton or British Sign Language to comment and therefore be included in the class discussion.
Other activities include teacher led whole class reading and small group guided reading sessions where children can discuss images and context of the book commenting on the different animals they can see, the environments that they live in and what else they can think of living in each environment and why. This can be extended further into categorisation turn taking games such as placing toy animals into the correct habitats or playing ‘Where’s my home?’ memory and matching board games.
I-spy and barrier games can be easily employed to work on attention and listening, phonological awareness and descriptive language skills.
Numeracy skills can be incorporated by sequencing the order of the animals encountered and counting the total number of animals on each page and then counting specific groups of animals.
For an art based activity, children could colour and cut animals and paint or make environments out of various materials. Older children could make animals out of clay, paint them and make small group versions of a totem pole.
In drama or dance, groups of children could act out scenes while other groups guess what they are doing with a focus to label a range of verbs.
Finally, the repetitive and structured nature of this book makes it easier to develop basic play skills for children who find play and language acquisition difficult. Therefore, children should be encouraged to play with toy animals and pre-made scenes to develop their play and language skills.
Overall, as you can see from my long review, I really do strongly recommend this book. Children absolutely love it and there are so many educational activities that promote inclusion, learning and enjoyment for all.
This brilliant picture book is full of brightly coloured illustrations with a simple catchy rhythm and rhyme with extensive use of repetitive language that will encourage children widely to read and sing along.
This highly inclusive and entertaining book is a must read for so many. In particular children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), English as an Additional Language (EAL), and children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) through to children in Year 1 will love this book.
It aids language development by introducing vocabulary and supports basic sentence structure through the use of nouns, verbs and categorisation to children in a fun, repetitive, and rhythmical manner with clearly illustrated images to further support language production and comprehension.
‘Walking through the Jungle’ has been published in many other languages alongside English to promote inclusion and English language skills in children with EAL. This has other advantages for all primary aged children trying to learn another language such as French or German in a fun and accessible way as part of their Modern Foreign Language lessons in school.
I have used this book extensively for many years, particularly with children with SEN to develop play, attention and listening and communication skills. This book can be made highly inclusive by asking children to comment on what they see in the pictures. Children can vocalise their thoughts whilst pointing to the image (in any language), or use various forms of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) such as Picture Exchange Communication System (PECs) or Proloquo2Go, Makaton or British Sign Language to comment and therefore be included in the class discussion.
Other activities include teacher led whole class reading and small group guided reading sessions where children can discuss images and context of the book commenting on the different animals they can see, the environments that they live in and what else they can think of living in each environment and why. This can be extended further into categorisation turn taking games such as placing toy animals into the correct habitats or playing ‘Where’s my home?’ memory and matching board games.
I-spy and barrier games can be easily employed to work on attention and listening, phonological awareness and descriptive language skills.
Numeracy skills can be incorporated by sequencing the order of the animals encountered and counting the total number of animals on each page and then counting specific groups of animals.
For an art based activity, children could colour and cut animals and paint or make environments out of various materials. Older children could make animals out of clay, paint them and make small group versions of a totem pole.
In drama or dance, groups of children could act out scenes while other groups guess what they are doing with a focus to label a range of verbs.
Finally, the repetitive and structured nature of this book makes it easier to develop basic play skills for children who find play and language acquisition difficult. Therefore, children should be encouraged to play with toy animals and pre-made scenes to develop their play and language skills.
Overall, as you can see from my long review, I really do strongly recommend this book. Children absolutely love it and there are so many educational activities that promote inclusion, learning and enjoyment for all.
March 10, 2011
Walking through the Jungle by Debbie Harter is a children’s book featuring an abundant amount of repetition and end rhyme to create a rhythm which will carry readers from beginning to end. The protagonist goes on an adventure around the world. I say around the world rather than jungle because at one point she finds herself being chased by a polar bear indigenous to polar regions. Additionally, she is featured riding a camel away from a snake in the desert. Harter dramatic verse is easy to follow and sure to capture the attention of any child the story is being read to. The reader can allow their child to practice predicting what is chasing our poor adventurer at each turn of the page. The vibrant illustrations which follow the story line seamlessly. If the reader becomes bored I would like to point their attention to the adventurer’s stint in the polar region. When the polar bear arrives the pelican is scared so much it actually drops lunch. Every animal in the picture is scared and frightened accept for the fish who is probably getting ready to make its get away. If you have an older child reading along this would be a great opportunity to infer why the fish may be happy while everyone else is not.
I would strongly recommend this book to students in kindergarten+. The book can also be useful in beginner Spanish classes where a teacher is trying to break his or her student’s dependency on a dictionary and increase their reading skills.
I would strongly recommend this book to students in kindergarten+. The book can also be useful in beginner Spanish classes where a teacher is trying to break his or her student’s dependency on a dictionary and increase their reading skills.
December 21, 2016
Awards: None
Grade Level: Prekindergarten-1st
Summary:
A little girl takes a walk in the jungle. Along her walk she encounters a tiger, a monkey, an elephant, a snake, and an alligator. The little girl sings a song to herself so she won't be afraid to keep on walking.
Review:
This song book is adorable. I think the words will be easy for young children to remember because all you do is replace the animal name each time. This song also teaches children not to be afraid and be brave when they may have a fear.
Possible In-class Uses:
1. Teacher can teach the students the words to the song.
2. Teacher can play sing-a-long CD for the class. The class can get up and move their bodies to the song.
Grade Level: Prekindergarten-1st
Summary:
A little girl takes a walk in the jungle. Along her walk she encounters a tiger, a monkey, an elephant, a snake, and an alligator. The little girl sings a song to herself so she won't be afraid to keep on walking.
Review:
This song book is adorable. I think the words will be easy for young children to remember because all you do is replace the animal name each time. This song also teaches children not to be afraid and be brave when they may have a fear.
Possible In-class Uses:
1. Teacher can teach the students the words to the song.
2. Teacher can play sing-a-long CD for the class. The class can get up and move their bodies to the song.
October 17, 2020
I lovely story which would be good to use with a KS1 class. A girl is going on adventure and visits different places and describes what she sees. She believes the animals chase her but they all appear to be her friends at the end as they all sit and have dinner together. Some lovely illustrations and lots of repetitive words. You could get children to discuss which animals they like or even get them to do a project on different habitats. English descriptive writing projects or even get them to describe places they've visited and what they might have seen.
February 9, 2010
Another fun adventure from Debbie Harter (with the help of Fred Penner). A young girl adventures through various environments, meeting some potentially frightening animals along the way- but she reconciles in the end as they all have tea and cakes together! Fun sing-along, easy to follow, good for early readers with rhyming, repeating text. Enjoy!
Find this and other Barefoot Books at my online store.
Find this and other Barefoot Books at my online store.
March 4, 2021
This book is more suitable for children Yr2/3 with the English version. However, using this book throughout the school year groups can be used with MFL and how new languages can be introduced. This book is a simple story of how the different animals are found throughout different parts of the jungle.
April 6, 2010
In this book a little girl is walking through many different places. In each place she encounters a different animal. I use this book to teach categorizing. Students help me sort and list each animal and the location it is found.
November 16, 2011
Bright colorful illustrations. The text can be sung back to the story teller
A young explorer discovers the different animals and terrains of the world before making it home, safe and sound, for supper.
A young explorer discovers the different animals and terrains of the world before making it home, safe and sound, for supper.
April 5, 2018
This is a singable story, I love it! You go walking, swimming, trekking, etc, through different places and see different animals. Makes me want to create a singable story time or just use it for a wild animals theme.
April 27, 2018
Urdu and English version. Good to use with EAL children. Bright pictures, asks question 'what do you see?' and is structured in a very repetitive pattern. Can ask children to predict and reason as to why the girl thinks that the animals are chasing her
August 3, 2008
great rhythm. would be excellent call back readaloud. bright attractive pictures. girls loved it.
July 10, 2018
Can be sung to the echo song "I Went Walking."
October 4, 2019
Good to use for an EYFS hot and cold places topic :)
November 26, 2019
I read this book as a bilingual book. I loved the repetition in the story which enabled a clear understanding of the language being learnt. A great book
May 9, 2020
Not the version of walking through the jungle I'm familiar with, but easy to sing and lots of animals, so my kids love it.
October 7, 2020
KS1- focus on animals and their habitats
January 4, 2021
Didn’t love the repetitive nature... why were the lines repeated? I read each line once.
August 20, 2020
A lovely book with beautiful illustrations and a great story which introduces children to the animals in the jungle.
November 2, 2021
The big book version of this story is great to use in storytime with the pre-K crowd. They love making the sounds of the animals found in the different ecosystems.
February 3, 2024
The book was very adventurous but there were just rhymes and rhymes, no story!
September 19, 2024
Not a fan of the art but I do appreciate the busy pages for young eyes and fingers to find and point out animals, bugs, and food.
March 18, 2025
Excellent pictures, colors, and story. Reminiscent of both "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" And "We're Going On A Bear Hunt".
October 12, 2021
Good for phase 1 phonics
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2011
AR 1.5 - 0.5
Good for very young children. Colorful illustrations.
Good for very young children. Colorful illustrations.
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September 8, 2024a kid made me read this to them 3 times in one day and 2 more the next day so i suppose it's good! repetitive and kids enjoy making the sounds of the animals and explaining the pictures to you.
October 6, 2009
good read for k-2nd as intro to animal themes
April 7, 2017
I have to put this in my reading challenge because I'm on track but I don't want to fall behind.
I like the fact that it had arabic there too, I'm learning and it really helps. Kids seem to really like this book and I don't mind reading it to them because it's not lengthy and doesn't make you hoarse.
I like the fact that it had arabic there too, I'm learning and it really helps. Kids seem to really like this book and I don't mind reading it to them because it's not lengthy and doesn't make you hoarse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews