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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,— Susan Hepler
Overview
It's a hot day on the savanna. The sun sizzles, bristles, and bakes. A young monkey wants to drink at the water hole.
But wait!
Blocking the way are irritable hippos, sharphoofed zebras, a toothy lion, huge elephants, and a lurking crocodile. Will Monkey ever get to taste cool water? Why is waiting so hard?
A thirsty monkey waits as the larger animals drink from ...