The Animal Song

by Jonty Howley

Overview

From musician and author/artist Jonty Howley comes a lively celebration of friendship and music, perfect for a gentle nighttime read. The story comes with a link to an original song by the author!

Snap! Poom-poom! Jingle-Jangle! Three talented animals--a crocodile playing a snare drum, a big brown bear with a bass, and a weasel with a banjo--form a traveling band to sing and play for the other animals in the woods. From spring to fall, they always attract an eager crowd. But when winter comes, the animals in the audience go off to bed and the band searches for a new stage. Skipping their own bedtime, the musical trio parades through the forest, moving on to the next performance until--Snore! Phew! Grumble-grumble!--even the band falls asleep.

A rhythmic text interspersed with onomatopoeia make the story in The Animal Song nicely noisy until the very end when--shh!--everyone is asleep. Featuring a website with original music composed by the author/illustrator, this book is perfect for helping young readers to get their sillies out right before it’s time to sleep!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593381489
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	01/10/2023
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

JONTY HOWLEY is a British author, illustrator, and musician. From a young age, Jonty has always loved to draw, and few things excite him more than beautiful books and the worlds you can find inside them.

Editorial Reviews

This simple and sweet tale is well patterned with a refrain that younger readers will adopt. The catchy tune that accompanies the story....will have young listeners singing along in no time.” —School Library Journal

"Lyrical, rhyming lines match the purported rhythm of the animal song, giving extra harmony to the images, text, and plot.” —The Bulletin

From the Publisher

2022-09-28
An unlikely band makes music in woods and town.

Blocky graphic illustrations introduce a crocodile, a bear, and a weasel as an enthusiastic musical trio. Color-coded text signals “Snap” in green for the croc’s snare drum, “Poom-poom” in brown to accompany the bear’s bass, and an orange “Jingle-jangle” for the weasel’s banjo—together, “Snap-poom-jingle jangle” makes for a fun, onomatopoeic refrain to their upbeat, earnest animal song. The cheerful, anthropomorphic crew won’t quit for winter, but the rest of the forest is winding down (“Shh, now, please, we want to go to bed!”), and as they pop in on a squirrel, a badger, a bat, and others, they find themselves cast out of the woods and into town with their show, at the suggestion of a rat. The band’s positivity and determination are welcomed by the animals who live in town, but after a season of daily playing on a street corner, the crocodile, the bear, and the weasel finally tire themselves. As spring arrives, they decide to return to the woods. There’s no big message here, but the dedication of the animals may be quietly inspiring to some. For others, there’s a subtle lesson about moderation as the trio settle in for a spring hibernation when their friends start emerging from winter naps. An appended musical score and lyrics make this ripe for the truly musical, with plenty of extension opportunities for interested educators. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A happy, harmonious collection of words and images. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews