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Way Far Away on a Wild Safari

While not a hippo book, one does appear in this week’s choice for Perfect Picture Book Fridays



Way Far Away on a Wild Safari
Written by Jan Peck
Illustrated by Valeria Petrone
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006

Suitable for: Ages 3 and up

Theme/Topic: Safari, Animals

Opening:
Way far away on a wild safari,
I’m hunting for a lion for my grandma and me.
I’m so brave,
can’t scare me,
way far away on a wild safari.

Brief Synopsis: From the book’s jacket:
“Grab your binoculars
and follow me.
Let’s travel far away
on a wild safari.
There are lots of fun trails!
Many sights to see!
As we hike, hike, hike
on this wild safari.”

Link to Resources: Here’s the curriculum guide for the Way Out series of books from Jan Peck’s website. The picture book We All Went on Safari has several pages about the animals of Tanzania, the Maasai people, and Swahili names. Here’s a Safari in Kenya lesson plan from Homeschool Creations.

Why I like this book: We found this book as part of our hippo adventures. One appears in this book! This adventure takes the boy full circle from being in the wild and meeting the animals to saying goodbye and being with his grandma. The final illustration shares a surprise about this young explorer.

And, may I ask: Where did February go? Hello March.

For more Perfect Picture Books, check out Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog.

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22 Comments

  1. Sounds like a lovely book. I do love hippos. One of my favourite, much rejected manuscripts features a hippo. I’ll keep submitting it until we get that acceptance even though I know that picture books are hard to sell to publishers these days.

    1. Yep. I read that over and over. I’m sure my little guy would love another hippo book. There were some not so PPBF worthy hippo stories we found during our focus on hippos. 🙂

  2. This sounds fun, Stacy. There should be more binoculars in picture books. My kids would love that because my parents went on safari and now the kids want to go.

    1. I want to go with them! I will warn you that zoo visits are not the same after seeing all the animals in the Serengeti!

  3. Where DID February go??

    I was betting there would be a George & Martha book today, keeping with the hippo theme.

    I’d love to go on a safari, for real or through a book!

    1. Sorry you would have lost the bet Cathy. There are plenty more hippo books out there. I may revisit a few hippo books later, but thought I’d ease into other books with the safari transition.

  4. This book intrigues me because you mentioned a twist and I love the characters huge head on this cover! 🙂

  5. Sounds like a fun book to read. Cute cover. I liked the hippo theme for the month of February.

  6. Great cover art, makes me want to head back to Africa!

  7. Where did February go? I’m glad anyway….closer to spring. And how funny this book is here, I was dreaming last night of heading back to Africa with the family. Just a dream though. Better get this book soon!

    1. I’ve been plotting for a trip to Namibia – I think or maybe Tanzania. We’ll see where those dreams go.

  8. Looks as though you’ve got some spam in the comments, Stacy!

    This book sounds great fun, and like Erik, I was reminded of “We’re going on a lion hunt”!

    So glad you mentioned “We All Went on Safari” — that is such a great book, too.

    1. Spam. Sigh. I just deleted them. Most of them get caught and don’t post. We All Went on Safari is one of my favorites. Brilliant in its simplicity.

  9. Thought the exact same thing as Erik when I read the opening — We’re going on a lion hunt. My great granddaughter is really enamored with animal books. This sounds like a good suggestion. And, a lot of fun!

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