(NOTE: I was given a free copy of Jungle Night by Sandra Boynton to review but all opinions are my own.)
Bedtime. Kids try to prolong it. Parents dread it. It seems that lots of time nobody is happy.
The book Jungle Night by Sandra Boynton can help change that. Wahoo!
In the book, animals settle down and go to sleep.
The tiger and the cheetah do.
The crocodile and the monkeys do.
The red river-hogs do. And the jungle frogs, gorilla, colorful bird, and the panther.
As they sleep, they make little snoring sounds. Gentle ones. Soft ones. Fun-for-grandma-to-read-out-loud ones.
Warning! Now comes a spoiler alert. You can skip this part if you want. You can jump right down to the pictures of me reading this wonderful children’s book to my precious grandkids. Go ahead. No one is judging you.
But then, you’d miss me sharing the best part of the book. One that tickles your funny bone. One that delights. One that surprises.
Are you still with me? I sure hope so!
In addition to the tigers, cheetahs, crocodiles, gorillas, monkeys, river-hogs, jungle frogs, colorful bird, and panther, the elephant sleeps, too.
And what sound does he make?
Of course an animal as huge as the elephant isn’t going to make hushed sleeping sounds. No siree, Bob! (I love this! Elephants are my favorite animal so I am thrilled that it is the animal that snores so noisily!)
Then, all of the other jungle animals are wide awake! (Of course! Who can sleep through an elephant snoring, huh?)
When you purchase this book, you get 2 free downloadable soundtracks. One is of the author’s son, Keith, narrating the story. His narration is accompanied by music from a steel drum and from Yo-Yo Ma expressively playing the animals’ snores on his cello.
I absolutely love the narration! I could listen to it over and over. Keith’s deep, rich voice is soothing and relaxing. I don’t know about kids, but I could certainly fall asleep listening to him!
I love how Yo-Yo Ma makes the animals’ snoring sounds with his cello. It’s amazing! (It reminds me of The Carnival of the Animals by the musician Saint Saens. Are you familiar with that?) The music and the narration make a perfect, winning combination.
The other soundtrack is an instrumental with Yo Yo Ma on his cello, Ron Block on the guitar, and Kevin MacLeod on the drums. These 2 soundtracks will definitely soothe the beast in any young child and get him settled down and ready for sleep!
I know this book is is meant for children up to age 4. However! My granddaughter, who is 5, and her older brothers loved the book! They loved the surprise of the elephant snoring so loud. They especially loved the picture showing the animals wide awake because of the elephant’s snoring.
I like the illustrations in this book. I especially love the tiger sleeping on his back. He looks so peaceful. (Kinda reminds me of my grandfather snoozing. I don’t know why.) And the monkeys. What’s not to love about them?
Jungle Night is a very sturdy board book. It will easily last through many bedtime readings. it will also stand up to a toddler ‘reading’ it. I like that.
Kids love this book. Grandparents love this book. Parents will love it, too. It’s a winner all around!
You can get Jungle Night on Amazon for $7.95.
