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PRESCHOOL
Snyder, Laurel

Hungry Jim

48 pp. | Chronicle | September, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4521-4987-5 $17.99
(2) PS Illustrated by Chuck Groenink. Author and illustrator dedicate this book to the memory of Maurice Sendak, who surely would have appreciated its gleefully anarchic celebration of cannibalism (and the illustrator's small homages to the master placed throughout). Little Jim finds himself turned overnight into a lion. When his mother calls him down for breakfast, Jim's stomach begins to growl: "She sounded DELICIOUS." After devouring her (an act implied rather than pictured), Jim goes out for a second breakfast (a dog and a dog walker) and a third and a fourth. He tries to outrun his urges, only to encounter something as hungry as himself: a bear. But success in that battle leaves Jim stuffed, and back home he goes, regurgitating his victims (whole, thankfully) as he returns and, finally, is hungry once more...for pancakes. The link between Jim's hunger and his psyche is underbaked, but his glorious gustatory rampage is a lot of fun. With their warm brown tones and cozy lines, Groenink's pencil and Photoshop illustrations provide a witty counterpoint to the text, and the pictures, framed à la Where the Wild Things Are, are large and well composed, which, combined with the brisk writing, promises a storytime treat. If you dare.
Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

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