Synopsis
In his children’s book debut, fine artist Alex Beard brings to life an African savanna filled with humor and misunderstandings.
When Bird mixes up something Turtle says, he accidentally starts a rumor about the watering hole drying up. One misunderstanding leads to another, with animals making their own hilarious assumptions.
No one is hearing anything right, and soon the animals are in an uproar from one end of the jungle to the other. Elephant is trumpeting, Croc is snapping, and the Flamingos are fleeing! Beard’s story will have every child wondering if peace can ever be restored in the animal kingdom.
Alex Beard has two galleries, one in New Orleans and the other in New York City. Along with his paintings and prints, he has created a line of puzzles that was launched through national accounts in fall 2008 and spring 2009. Puzzles based on The Jungle Grapevine will be launched in conjunction with this book in fall 2009.
Publishers Weekly
Birds, snakes, gazelles and other African animals, rendered in stylized pen, ink and watercolor art, inadvertently pass along misinformation in this clever take on the familiar game of telephone. The ruckus begins when a geometrically patterned turtle comments, “The Watering Hole is always good for a laugh.... But lately the humor has been drying up.” Bird then tells Elephant that the Watering Hole is drying up, prompting a rumor of drought that gets twisted into fears of flood and news of mass migration. Debut author Beard's illustrations, which reveal characters in constant motion, bypass mere naturalism to evoke the creatures' emotional states and personalities (the bodies of a startled flock of flamingoes are defined by bold spirals that resemble treble clefs; music notes blast from an elephant's trunk while animals in the borders play trumpets and horns). A substantial black border focuses the action like a camera lens, as additional creatures and flora spill out into the edges. Beard neatly brings the story full circle, but paves the way for a new round of misunderstandings. Dryly witty and visually compelling. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)