by Marc Rosenthal
New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Unpaged. Picture Book.
Archie somehow falls off an ocean liner into the drink but since he is still asleep he doesn't notice until he wakes up, still in bed, on an island beach. A tiger scares him up a tree, but he is soon back down eating coconuts and drinking their milk. Soon he sets to work building a house and then welcomes a visitor, Clarice the Ibis, who plays checkers with him and teaches him to fish. Suddenly the tiger appears and Archie prepares for the end, but Beatrice the tiger likes him because he is wearing a sweater that reminds her of her cubs and the three animals soon become fast friends. All is peaceful until pirates arrive, capture Beatrice, and generally make a nuisance of themselves until Archie and his friends come up with a scheme to drive Captain Pequod (ha ha) and his mates from the island. Fabulous brightly colored, old-timey pictures should make this story a big hit with the little dudes (and their grownups).
Comments
I hope parents and kids will give it a look.
Marc