"My grandmother got on the
carpet and growled.
"Let's be jaguars," she said.
I made the shape of a jaguar.
A grandmother's visit inspires an amazing journey for the young child who narrates this transformative story for early readers. The child starts by saying that the two have only seen each other one time; the grandmother does not live nearby. The two have been left to get to know each other.
Grandmother quickly drops to her knees, suggesting they 'be jaguars'. Who could guess the adventures that suggestion might bring? The two quickly become jaguars; in shape, in size, in speed, and in temperament. Only then are they prepared to leave the living room for the neighboring woods, as the majestic cats they have become.
The adventure leads them past frightened animals and birds, in travels laced with laughter, prey, great wonder, soothing drinks in a silver lake, and a walk across the top of the lake's broad expanse. Only then do they stop to rest before conquering a mountain, and crossing an ocean.
"We were somewhere in the Himalayas
when I remembered that I had school.
"I should go back pretty soon," I said."
Grandmother agrees, supplies a telling note for the teacher and all is well.
This leap of imagination is captured in perfectly chosen text that uses jaguar as a noun to describe the two humans as they set forth on a nighttime journey together, while also using jaguared and jaguaring as a verb to describe their stealthy movements. Readers will recognize the child's initial hesitation, the doubt that some feats are possible, and then the humorous reason for returning home.
Woodrow White creates a setting that allows readers to fully believe in this incredible trek. He allows his audience to recognize the two in his renderings of the lithe creatures they have become. Expression-filled faces and the scene at the silver lake remind readers of that, and bring the story full circle with the pleading eyes of the child and the acceptance of the grandmother as the story ends.
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