To the person holding this book: I envy you. Whether you read it for yourself, or share it with a young friend, you are about to embark on an adventure that is so wondrous, and so scary, it is definitely not for the timid. It will take some courage to join Tingle as she leaves her family and the safety of the herd to find her banished sister, Panush. So, grab your blanket and a snack, and settle in for the afternoon, because there is no good place in this story to put a bookmark. You’ll want to keep going to find out.…
What could make a cheetah giggle? What is the mysterious something that Tingle carries with her on her journey? Why did Whizzer coat himself with tree sap? What are yabbla gloffers, and why does Gorbash have so many? What is M’Suma’s secret? What does the vulture have hidden under its wing? Where does Moon-Boy go during the day? Why can’t you see him at night? And what is up with Guinevere, anyway?? Ha-Ssuu could probably tell us, if anyone dares approach his tree to ask.
Keep a box of tissues with you, too, because you are going to laugh til you cry when you see what the gazelles are doing. And you might shed a tear now and then, as you share the heartbreak and triumphs of Tingle’s journey into the dangerous unknown, with the hope of reuniting her family. Along the way, you just might learn how to see in the dark like an elephant, talk like a gorilla, and fly like a monkey.
