Wild Baby

Impulse control? Not for Doerrfeld's little orangutan, who's a "wild baby on the run!" With the baby's increasingly frantic mother in hot pursuit ("Wild jump. Wild free./ Wild baby wait for me!'"), the little monkey gets in all the other jungle families' business, including the egg-filled nest of a furious mama bird ("Wild hands on everything!"). Unbeknownst to the wee monkey--but obvious to readers--the shenanigans have roused a leopard who would love a wild baby snack. Will Mama see the threat and come to the rescue in time? And just how angry will she be? Doerrfeld's reliance on "wild" to drive the rhyming text grows a little repetitive, but her digitally painted forest illustrations have marvelous momentum, striking the right balance between mischievous energy, little monkey glee, and the genuine seriousness of the situation. She establishes a vivid sense of place as the monkeys and the stealthy leopard move through the lush, blue-green tree canopy--and, just as in real life (as adult readers will ruefully note), she shows how everyone else in the jungle becomes transfixed by the chase. Ages 4-8. Agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (Mar.)

PreS-K-A wild baby monkey is ready for an adventure in this energetic picture book. Opening on an illustrated scene of a young monkey jumping on their monkey parent, the young one's energy is felt immediately. As the young monkey begins to get into everything, the mother monkey looks on embarrassed and slightly horrified. Then, a butterfly chase ensues with the young monkey running away from his mother. A prowling cheetah soon joins the chase as well, and little ones will enjoy pointing out the danger to the monkeys. Luckily, all ends well with a special gift being given to the mother monkey at the end by her wild child. The digital illustrations convey the movement of the monkeys perfectly, and the energy is contagious. Caregivers in a storytime will especially relate to the mother monkey lecturing the young monkey after their narrow escape from the cheetah. VERDICT A first purchase.-Brooke Newberry, Winding Rivers Library System, West Salem, WI