Orangutanka

January 12, 2015
Engle makes expressive use of the five-line tanka poetry form to study a family of orangutans living in a wildlife refuge. A sense of movement—sometimes dramatic, sometimes quiet—emanates from nearly every entry. Kurilla’s dynamic mixed-media images show an adult orangutan perched between branches (“papa/ is too massive/ for treetops—/ his great weight makes/ low branches waltz slowly”), while another spread follows another orangutan’s progress down to the jungle floor, where rangers have prepared a feast (“towering green trees/ shiver, sway, rattle, and shake/ when orangutans/ clamber toward colorful mounds/ of bananas and mangoes”). Information about orangutans and the threats they face closes out this warm, rewarding portrait of these intelligent apes. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

December 15, 2014
Follow an orangutan family through a day in the wildlife refuge.Engle presents a delightful tale of five orangutans in a string of linked tankas, an ancient Japanese form of poetry consisting of counted syllables on five lines with minimal punctuation and capitalization. "cozy morning / baby orangutan cuddles / with mama / in their leafy nest / while a breeze sways green trees." Big sister swings through the vines. Forest rangers bring juicy fruit. Humans watch from nearby. The rest of the family sleeps while big sister does "hip-hop / somersaults and cartwheels, / cha-cha-cha- / so many forms of orangudance / with lively arms and legs." After a rainstorm, grandma orangutan joins in, and so do the watching children. Kurilla's lush, digitally colored illustrations are as joyous and full of wonder as Engle's verse. The simple expressions of the apes in the spot, full-bleed and double-page-spread illustrations bring these gentle giants to life. A tanka invitation to orangudance, orangutan facts and further reading, print and online, follow the text. A playful and instructive introduction to a little-known form of verse. Listeners aping big sister's dance will hoot for a repeat. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from December 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-A sprightly introduction to orangutans through nimble wordplay and attractive book design. Kurilla's pen-and-ink illustrations frame Engle's tanka verses, which relate a simple story of an orangutan family in an animal sanctuary in Borneo. Massive papa, whose "great weight makes/low branches waltz slowly" and mama, baby, inquisitive big sister, and watchful grandma live an idyllic existence amid the tall trees. Child-friendly verse evokes the habitat and should have wide appeal: "Imagine/rain forest music-/insects/buzz, zoom, and hum/while green leaves swish." Teachers will also appreciate the page of orangutan facts, where they can find print and online suggestions for further reading. Readers learn that the long-term outlook for this species of gentle primates is in doubt as deforestation threatens their rainforest habitats in Borneo and Sumatra. Engle also includes a note describing tanka poetry, an ancient Japanese format; the modern form is unrhymed and consists of five lines (short, long, short, long, long) of linked poems. She concludes by inviting children to write their own poems and dance like orangutans "with energetic arms and legs." This well-crafted book, with its accomplished verses and smattering of facts, should earn a wide audience.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Preschool-G Cleverly combining poetry with scientific information, Engle's modern tanka poems (a Japanese style often used as a travel diary) express humor and energy. The fun begins as the cheerful orangs play in their jungle trees of Borneo, cuddling in their mama's leafy nest or flipping, dipping, and swooping through the towering trees and hanging vines. The chattering humans in the orangs' wildlife refuge revel in the antics of these highly intelligent creatures, as they watch them somersault and cartwheel and clamber upside down. This book is not only an inspiration to children to create their own tanka poems, but it also informs readers about these critically endangered primates. Back matter gives some orangutan facts and a bibliography for more research. The hilarious, digitally colored pencil-and-ink illustrations depict the lush jungle environment and the furry orange orangutans' extended family at rest and play. Children will be inspired to move their arms and legs energetically like a happy orangutan, dancing the Orangudance to the music of the rain forest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)