Jungle Gym Jitters
Kindergarten-Grade 3–While cleaning up his wood shop, Jerry J. Jingle's dad has a flash of inspiration. As his vision gradually takes shape, a jungle gym emerges, but before long, the fun turns to terror for Jerry and the community. Dad's frenzy becomes maniacal, and the structure soon incorporates "silvery loops that were sixty-feet tall," sky-high tire swings, a host of jungle creatures, and gigantic blimps that careen in a dizzying whirl. During a wild celebration, a fiery limbo dance imperils everyone, particularly the protagonist's sister. Richards's surreal scenes, composed with colored and graphite pencils on gray paper, are reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg's work inJumanji(Houghton, 1981). The compositions here are more crowded and frenetic, but the extreme perspectives, retro setting, and monochromatic tones invite comparison. The rhymed text, however, is awkward, and the boy's protracted jitters don't allow for much of an emotional range: "Long strings of tire swings swooped up through the sky/as, longingly, Jerry watched life pass him by." There is not enough storytelling going on in the visuals to sustain interest through the pedestrian and predictable narrative. For more satisfying tales involving invention and courage, try William Joyce'sSanta Calls(HarperCollins, 1993) or Paul Fleischman'sWeslandia(Candlewick, 1999).–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.