Pequeno Zambo

PreS-Gr 2-Little Zambo lives with his mother and father who love him very much. They work hard to buy him lovely gifts. One day, Zambo goes on a walk in the jungle wearing a new suit of clothes red jacket, blue pants, green shoes, and a purple umbrella. Along the way, he meets four hungry tigers that announce their intention to devour him. One by one, Zambo trades a new article of clothing for safe passage. Each beast goes his separate way, happy with the trade and thinking himself to be the most elegant tiger in the forest. Inevitably, they all meet up and quarrel ferociously over their sartorial claims. As their argument escalates, they chase one another around a tree, faster and faster, until all four dissolve into a puddle of tiger lard. Zambo happily reclaims his clothing and runs home to tell his parents what has happened. Dad collects the lard, mom makes pancakes, and the family has a feast, thanks to those silly, vain tigers. The interesting illustrations show the main characters in the jungle surrounded by lush foliage and many little creatures. However, although the premise is entertaining, the tone of the story is very moralistic and the characters necessarily one-dimensional. Only the youngest readers will buy into it. Appropriate for public libraries. MOB