Water Hole Waiting

Waiting is hard. And if you are a small vervet monkey with a big thirst, it's even harder. But wait you must, because snap! go Crocodile's jaws; slip, slap go Lion's powerful paws; thrum, thrum go the rumbling elephants Water holes on the African savanna are popular places. Will Monkey and his family ever get to drink? Take this unforgettable (and noisy!) armchair safari and find out! It's the perfect book for animal lovers, and Lee Christiansen's lush and expressive pastel portraits of the animals take you right to the water hole. Also includes an informative authors' note on the facts behind the fiction.
About the Author:Jane Kurtz and Christopher Kurtz previously collaborated on Only a Pigeon. Jane Kurtz lives in Grand Forks, ND, and Christopher Kurtz lives in Portland, OR. Lee Christiansen has illustrated several picture books. He lives in Red Lodge, MT.

Susan Hepler - Children's Literature

The authors who have lived in Ethiopia and traveled in Kenya depict a waterhole and the drama of the animals that come to drink there from morning to night. Throughout, sad-faced monkeys wait their turn so as not to get stepped on by elephants and hippos, or trampled by the grazers, or eaten by the ever-present crocodile floating like a log in the water. Telegraphic, often poetic prose, in short bursts, tells how mama monkey grabs whatever part of her anxious and thirsty baby she can reach ear, leg, tail to teach him to wait while the personified sun cartwheels up and somersaults across the sky until evening slinks through, pulling shadows behind it. Finally, "Evening sighs. Sun sinks./Crocodile ripples away" and "the monkeys leap/jiggle/chitter-chatter/wiggle/all the way down/to the waiting water hole./Aaaaah." The book pairs well with other African savannah-set stories to show the importance of a waterhole and the animals that use it. 2002, Greenwillow,

Amy June Bates has illustrated many books for children, including Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight by Kathleen Krull, The Dog Who Belonged to No One by Amy Hest and You Can Do It! by Tony Dungy. She graduated from Brigham Young University and now lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three children. Illustrating books has always been her dream.