It's Okay to Dream Big!
Gabriel in the Jungle� is a creative and fun book by Brandi Young. This story follows our young hero as he dreams of a visit to the jungle where he meets all kinds of new friends. I found the story to be cute and exciting, and one that will hopefully teach young children that believing in their dreams is a very important part of being a happy child. I loved the story.
As the story opens, Gabriel finds himself in the middle of the jungle where he meets his tour guide for this adventure, a beautiful but very large and scary tiger. Once the tiger assures Gabriel that he will not hurt him and just wants to show him around, Gabriel agrees to climb onto his back and begin the journey. As Gabriel and his new friend go from place to place in the jungle he meets many new friends, as well as a scary snake that he really does not want to get to know better. Through it all, this happily dreaming little boy also learns a lot of facts about the animals and the jungle that are presented in a fun and different way. With a huge thank you to his new feline friend, Gabriel wakes up in his own room overjoyed, I am sure, by his adventure.
In ââ?¬Å"Gabriel in the Jungle,ââ?¬Â? the first book in The Adventures of Gabriel Pierce series, author Brandi Young has shown children that it is okay to dream and dream big. The story is well-written and very enjoyable for young and older readers. The illustrations are beautiful and bright and add so much to the story. But best of all, the expressions on the animalsââ?¬â?¢ faces, as well as Gabrielââ?¬â?¢s, are priceless. I especially love the last couple of pages where the author tells readers that her inspiration for the story came from her own son Gabriel who created his first book when he was 6-years-old. On the final couple of pages of her book, she reprinted the actual pages from the book her son wrote and I thought it was absolutely adorable. Hopefully, her son believes in his dreams as much as his mom believes in them.
I think that ââ?¬Å"Gabriel in the Jungleââ?¬Â? is a story that young children are going to adore reading and looking at. I know I did. It would also be my hope that all the parents out there would take a page from this authorââ?¬â?¢s (and her sonââ?¬â?¢s) book and encourage their children to dream and dream big. This book is part of what will become an ongoing series about Gabriel, and I cannot wait to see what he gets up to next.
