Amazon.com
Award-winning country chanteuse Leann Rimes writes her first children's book
Jag, the story of a young jaguar who dreads her first day of school but learns to meet her fears head-on. She isn't afraid of meeting new friends ("Who needs that stuff?"), but she is deeply afraid of the swimming lessons she knows are inevitable: "Nothing frightened Jag more than the river. She preferred solid ground, which didn't shift and slip under her paws." Isabel, the wise parrot, warns Jag that if she doesn't learn to swim, she'll have to stand up to the ridicule of her peers as well as her fears. Sure enough, the trouble starts the first day of school when the jaguar cub announces her nickname Jag. "Who's next? Ow the Owl?" someone cries. It only gets worse at the river the next day during swimming lessons. But when one young jaguar named Simon with completely black fur (no spots!) shows up for class and is ridiculed for his appearance, Jag has to decide whether to revel in being part of the group du jour or to be kind to the newcomer. In the end, she not only befriends Simon, she releases such a huge roar for a tiny jaguar that her classmates tremble in their fur. Kids who are afraid of school, or troubled by the ways in which they are challenged by the group, may be inspired by this winning story of a small cat who takes on peers and fears with a growl and not a whimper. Illustrator Richard Bernal creates a soft, friendly, Disneyesque jungle where butterflies yawn and kittenish jaguars walk upright. (Ages 4 and older)
--Karin Snelson
Kurzbeschreibung
For a small jaguar, Jag's got a great big roar, and she's a good climber, too. But the mighty hunter Jag has a secret: she's terrified of water. She worries about starting school, where there will be swimming lessons. "What if everyone laughs at me?" Jag asks her mother on the first day. Indeed, the other jaguars start jeering as soon as they hear her nickname. Just before Jag's secret is discovered, another student arrives and becomes the new object of ridicule. Torn between wanting to fit in and wanting to help, Jag finally stands up to her peers and her fears and makes a new friend.
Young schoolgoers will be inspired by Jag's feistiness and friendliness in this story about resisting peer pressure and trying new things.
Illustrated by Richard Bernal.
