If You're Happy and You Know It

by James Warhola

Get ready to stomp your feet, flap your wings, and scratch your fur! A fun sing-along safari.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Music, Childrens, Emotion, Fiction

Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

James Warhola is an American artist who has illustrated more than two dozen children's books since 1987. Prior to that, he illustrated science fiction and fantasy paperback covers. His paintings are showcased in the permanent collection of the Warhola Museum in Medzilborce, Slovakia, a museum devoted entirely to the work of artists in his family.

A native of Smock, a coal-mining region in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and of Rusyn origin, he is the son of Paul Warhola, Andy Warhol's oldest brother. He lives with his wife in New York State.

Reviews

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Yeah! This is If You’re Happy and You Know It Jungle Edition! There have been several books written around this favorite kids’ song, but I particularly like this one because of the fun and colorful illustrations by James Warhola.
The book opens by welcoming two children and their mother to “Big Jungle Playground,” and initially, it seems all the “wild animals” are simply part of the playground equipment. However, as soon as the kids begin to sing, the animals start to come alive! Their mother is sitting on a bench reading while they and the animals sing and play their way through the afternoon. Finally, just as the playground is looking more and more like a jungle and the animal numbers are multiplying, mother stands up, stretches, and then announces, “Time to go, kids!” She doesn’t seem to have noticed the animals.
Were they real, or was this scene merely a construction of the kids’ imagination? Read this rambunctious tale and decide for yourself! – Jess O.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prospector.
Would be fun/funny for storytime

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A basic take-off of the "If You're Happy and You Know it Song." What my family particularly enjoyed is the story around the words--two kids go to a jungle-themed playground and the animals on the playground equipment come to life one at a time. Of course, the mother in the story does not notice. The body of the book just has the first line of each verse (and we didn't actually sing it most of the time), but complete song lyrics are included in the back. Besides the fun additions to the familiar song (i.e. "laugh out loud" with the hyena or "jump up high" with a frog), my kids liked looking at the pictures carefully on rereads to figure out which animal was going to come to life next.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many wild animals (playground equipment come to life) suggest what to do when you're happy, inviting readers to act along. Fun and engaging.
"Jungle" is loosely portrayed - there are many rainforest/jungle animals that fit (elephant, snake, frog, monkey, ape, toucans and cockatoos, crocodiles, hippos, sloths, anteaters. But a slew of other animals are from the grassland savanna - lion, hyena, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, rhino, (I even saw a koala in one spread).

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* art
3* idea

Action songs are always great. Squirt enjoyed singing and stamping and roaring. Any excuse will do.

[Liz C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hit with a mixed group of kid's for my Musical Mayhem program.

[Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun, and I'm vindicated because his lyrics are the ones I use, which everyone thought was crazy when I first introduced this song into my storytime.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

picture book (toddler/preschool)

interactive/musical story (without necessarily needing to sing the whole verse again for each spread). The ending was a bit abrupt to me (and would require the kids to be able to see the mom getting up and calling the kids in) so I'm not sure about it being ideal for storytime crowds, but you could maybe adapt the ending to suit your needs.

the very end of the story goes through 10 complete verses with all of the actions, plus a final verse that calls for doing all 10 of the actions in sequence, if your kids are up for the challenge.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple text (the phrases aren't repeated on each page) with jungle animal action (scratch your fur, give a roar, etc). Great illustrations really set this book apart and give it life. The kids visit a jungle themed playground and the animals come alive. Look carefully to get clues about what's coming. A great story time read aloud!

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition is a book I would use to get students moving along to the words and actions depicted. I could also have students count the actions at the end of the song. I think this book is a great resource because not many books get students to be active in the classroom (a concept I am currently working on in Movement and Wellness).

[Melissa Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good picture book for teachers to read to the children. It talks about if you are happy do this, or do that. It is also fun for the children to get active along with the book by doing what the book says. For example, if you are happy and you know it stomp your feet. Then the children can stomp their feet.

[Randall De Kleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son picked this off the library shelf, so we took it home with us. He asked for it to be read several times while we had it. The book is a nice size and has beautiful illustrations -- a great book to tie into the song and for kids who love animals and playgrounds.

[Josefina Bustos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The repetitive words make it easy to follow. It also can be read as a song and used to teach listening skills. It was written as a jungle edition that gives the classic song a boost of energy. This book is fun to read.

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this jungle edition of If You're Happy & You Know It! Great for a musical or jungle story time.

[Elizabeth Moreau Nicolai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worked fairly well for storytime, but we skipped a few animals.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good interactive book. Great for read aloud!

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

The classic kids song... jungle edition. Elliot loves jungle animals, so he was all over this. Fun illustrations.

*library book
* read at 21 months

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read with my niece, she loved looking at the animals!

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A take on the classic children's song with a jungle flair. It invites you do do things like "scratch your fur," "give a roar," and "beat your chest." A familiar song with a fun twist.

[Kayla Johnson]

Jungle animal baby storytime

[Kathy Gunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

(2007)

Get ready to sing along with this jungle version of a classic, "If You're Happy and You Know It!" What fun! Ger ready to stomp your feet, scratch your fur, give a roar, flap your wings, and beat your chest.

Themes: Jungle animals, sing-a-long, participation

Ideas: After reading through the pages, follow along to the words and sing the whole song and get ready to act it all out and have fun!

Come up with a new set of animals and create a new version of the song to sing together. (farm animals)

Participation book

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book and what's even better is that the kids do too! I have read/sang this book numerous times to different age groups and they all got a kick out of it. The twist on the typical "If You're Happy and You Know It" makes the book even more fun, and the kids really get into the singing and motions. Who wouldn't want to stomp like an elephant, flap their wings like a bird or scratch themselves like a monkey?! Awesome, I tell you. This book AWESOME! If you haven't read/sung it yet, you are seriously missing out.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun. My daughter and I had such a great time reading this book. It took her a little while to get in to it, but once she saw me act it out a few times, she joined in. It was fun to find the new animal that the page pertained to. At the very end they put it all together like the song and my daughter had a blast acting it all out with me. We'll definitely grab this book again - it is such a fun interactive book!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really cute to read and act out with young children!
Doing all ten of the actions is tough! Try the following and all at the same time.
1) clapping hands
2) stomping feet
3) scratching your fur (this is the jungle edition of the popular song)
4) roar
5) flap wings
6) laugh
7) beat your chest
8) jump
9) crawl
10) blink

[Stacia Leigh]

It's a popular kids song redone. I had to read the entire song AGAIN on the last page! My kids weren't going to let me skimp on that last page. Oh no...so, I was hoarse by the time I was done.

That being said...my kids went through the motion and appeared to love every minute of it. Although on that last page, one of my kids interjected, "How much longer?"

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book based on the class song "If you're happy and you know it." Kids can sing and follow the pages (reading!) of what to do next according to what the animals do. Catchy and fun. The ending of the story was a wee bit abrupt so it might be a good idea to continue the last part of the song like the beginning "clap your hands" to conclude.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version gets a bit long and I typically start singing solo about halfway through, but the kids still participate on the action, be it squeaking or jumping around, so it's usually worth it. A fun twist on an old familiar storytime song.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition is a slightly more extended version of the original song, which include jungle sounds and actions.


Used for "An Actor's Life for Me!: Sing, Act, Dance" Storytime- October, 2010

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

The images of the animals joining in with each other are absolutely priceless. Where else can you see an elephant and tiger and monkey all joining the bird for the "If you're happy and you know it flap your wings" verse.

[Danielle Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very colorful and upbeat. A day at the zoo turned out to be a fun rendition to the classic If you're happy and you know it. I think this would be fun to read to your class and then sing it out loud. Semester II