Here are some of this book's reviews
The bright, brash and edgy illustrations in rich glowing colours are the real stars in this riotous picture book. There is a menagerie of jungle creatures featured, each is gobbled, gulped or bothered by the next biggest in size and ferocity until the daddy of them all is revealed. A rewarding, noisy, shared-reading experience.
John Mclay, CAROUSEL
Glowing colours and a fast-moving rhyme combine to create a rather surreal jungle in which strangely coloured animals come and go, behaving badly against the stylised foliage. When the spider gobbles the fly a series of events unfolds which children will find pleasantly reminiscent of 'There wan an old lady …' But there are no old ladies in this dream-like landscape. From the large spider to the lion with his roaring mouth at maximum stretch, this jungle is free from any human intervention. It is a lively and chaotic place.
The rhyme builds as more and more creatures join the activity. Then, when the lion roars, the pace slackens and it all unwinds. It reads aloud well and children could soon join in. Quite young preschool children will enjoy the rhythm and the texture; older ones and infants might extend the idea and create some exotic plants and animals of their own.
Frances Bull, SCHOOL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
A cumulative rhyme like "The House That Jack Built" with echoes of "The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" begins with a fly that buzzes through the heart of the jungle. Each successive creature and its action are described in rhyme and in language that begs to be read aloud. The toad "with the big googly eye," for example, "gulped down the spider, that gobbled the fly, that buzzed...." "The elephant, swinging its trunk, that swatted the snake that slithered and slunk...." The book ends with the start of the trouble, the roar of the king of beasts. Gomez's broadly imaged, textured creatures and stylized jungle foliage are composed for strong emotional impact. The white monkey's long arms and tail, for example, as he "let out a shriek," create a decorative arabesque. The painterly illustrations delight the eye as we follow the tale to the end.
Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz, CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
K-Gr 3 -This story is very much like Verna Aardema's Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (Dial, 1975), but the culprit here is a fly "that buzzed through the heart of the jungle." It gets eaten by the spider, which gets eaten by the toad, which gets eaten by the crocodile, etc. The cadence follows a "This Is the House That Jack Built" pattern, which will delight listeners as it becomes clear that all of this eating was started by Lion, the King of Beasts, doing what lions do and causing animals to scatter. What sets this story apart is the creative variation of fonts. It starts out in medium-large text, perfect for young readers, and fluctuates ever so subtly, first angles, then curves up and down and around the shape of the animals. There is great rhythmic movement in the art, with bursts of color beginning with blues and greens. Gradually, dashes of other colors are added, culminating in bright orange for the King's mane, as his roar fills the whole page. Kids will be mesmerized - when they are not chiming in on the title refrain.
Wanda Meyers-Hines, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Elena Gomez’s superb artwork brings the jungle animals to life in this re-write to the rhythm of The House that Jack Built. Spread by spread the reader is introduced to a new animal and its antics.
This is the bear with the long pointy claws, That jumped on the crocodile, gaping its jaws,
That snapped at the toad with the beady eye, That gulped down the spider, That gobbled the fly,
That buzzed through the heart of the jungle.
But wait! Nine animals later, there was trouble in the jungle. And what started the trouble? Well last, but not least, This is the lion, the king of the beasts and guess what he did! A great follow on from The House that Jack Built not only for the language but also for the comparison of Gomez’s art work. A good book to read aloud; the constant repetition makes it a natural for joining-in. A quick, easy-to-produce show for an end of term concert.
REALBOOKS NEWS
Through The Heart Of The Jungle is the collaboratively effort of author Jonathan Emmett and illustrator Elena Gomez. Young readers are taken on an adventure through the heart of the jungle. They will find a buzzing fly is not alone because there is a spider waiting to gobble the fly. A toad is right behind the spider, and so on and on until the chain of predator and prey leads up to the lion! The rhythmic text is perfectly showcased with lush, colorful artwork making Through The Heart Of The Jungle a popular and recommended addition to any personal or library picture book collection.
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