It’s nighttime in the rainforest, and when Mama tells young Faly to shut his eyes, he objects. “Only if Mahandry sleeps, too,” he tells his mother. “But I am bigger than you, Faly,” answers the older lemur brother. “I am allowed to go to bed later.” Thus begins a spirited back-and-forth and a family gambol that brings a mama and her two lemur sons from the hollow of their tree to a dangerous wide river crossing to a slippery rushing waterfall and eventually to a tall tree filled with orchids to snack on. And with each step, the brothers notice who gets help from mama or who gets the kind of independence that comes with being big. Each child desires both and each child quietly reflects throughout on why he would rather be more like the other. No matter, it always seems true to one brother that the other has the advantage.
Anne Gutman’s poignant tale of siblings seesawing through a typical day en famille rings with truth, humour and sensitivity. Georg Hallensleben's paintings of the rainforest in pinks, browns and greens are a feast for the eyes and a treat for nature fans, and especially for young readers being introduced to the magic of the rainforest and its inhabitants for the first time.
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Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben are an author and illustrator team living in France.
More about Anne GutmanAuthor Kate Banks and illustrator Georg Hallensleben have collaborated on several books, including And If the Moon Could Talk, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, The Cat Who Walked Across France, Close Your Eyes, and The Night Worker, winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award. Banks lives in the South of France with her husband and two sons. Hallensle
More about Georg Hallensleben
