Over in the Grasslands

September 12, 2016
Berkes follows Over on the Mountain, Over in the River, and other habitat-themed riffs on “Over in the Meadow” by travelling to the grasslands of the African savanna, where she introduces giraffes, elephants, lions, jackals, and other creatures. The rhymes can sometimes fall flat (“ ‘Stalk,’ said the mother./ ‘We stalk,’ said the five./ So they stalked in the grass/ Knowing how to survive”), and Dubin’s mixed-media collages can be somewhat inconsistent, too. While she makes some lovely choices, including using marbled, crinkled paper for hippopotamus hide and cheesecloth-like webbing for her elephants, other images are less polished or comparatively cartoonish. As in the previous books, a closing section supplies substantial background on the setting and the creatures that live there, as well as a seek-and-find activity involving animals hidden throughout. Ages 3–8.