Jungle Night

by Sandra Boynton, Yo-Yo Ma (Performer)

Two celebrated artists, Sandra Boynton and Yo-Yo Ma, come together for Jungle Night , a soothing bedtime board book. (Okay, MOSTLY soothing.)

This board book guides us through the jungle to hear the distinctive, gentle snore of each “Listen to the ZEEE-ZOOO-HAAA . Listen to the CHEE-CHEE-TAAAH .” A free downloadable recording at JungleNight.com offers a narration of the book, with each and every animal snore interpreted by the expressive, playful cello of Yo-Yo Ma. He even does the elephant’s stop-the-show snore—though admittedly that took Ma’s cello PLUS the classic horn salute of the James R. Barker steamship. (Seriously.)

All this fabulousness leads into the coolest lullaby “Jungle Gymnopédie No. 1,” a polyrhythmic jungle-y arrangement by Boynton of Erik Satie’s renowned piece, with Yo-Yo Ma on cello, guitar played by Ron Block of Alison Krauss Union Station, and drums by Kevin MacLeod. “Yo-Yo and I chose this piece because it’s the most gorgeous and mesmerizing night song imaginable,” explains Boynton. “And there was surely nothing else that could get those animals back to sleep after that elephant blast.”

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Storytime, Music, Kids

18 pages, Board Book

First published March 23, 2021

About the author

Sandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over eighty-five books for children and seven general audience books, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and seven music albums. She has also designed calendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys for various companies.

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can watch an animation of the book at the link below. I adore the cello snores.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56aEu...

[Naomi Saucke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the fun animal sounds. What sound does the panther cat make?

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025 reading: with my Millie moo granddaughter (3) while visiting Colorado

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just watched the lovely version the author shared on Facebook which is read and then followed with a lovely Eric Satie song performed by Yo Yo Ma. So peaceful. https://www.amazon.com/Jungle-Night-S...

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed probably really good with yo yo ma soundtrack

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The YouTube video that accompanies this book is awesome. My son is obsessed and loves the lion playing the cello. He also loves finding the elephant and making the snoring sounds. I am pretty certain everyone in our household will be able to recite the whole book by heart soon.

[Lacy | literary_lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edited June 2023: Both of my kids love this book. We read it first every night, and last, after we’ve read our other books. We listen to the narration while reading, and my kids really enjoy that! I’m so glad we have our own copy of this!

Another great Sandra Boynton book! This one has narration with cello playing over it. My daughter enjoyed this book a lot, but the cello did scare her some.

This book showcases some common animals that live in the jungle, which is good for teaching your kids.

If you are a fan of Sandra Boynton’s books, or love music accompaniment when reading, then this will be a great read for you and your little ones.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so if I added every book I read with my child, I'd probably have thousands more on here. And maybe one day I'll update my account with that. Or create a separate "beanie reads" section.

In the meantime, I'll just add my absolute faves. This one is HILARIOUS. I adore all of Sandra Boynton's books, but this one tops out, mostly because I'm biased due to the fact that YoYo Ma did the cello music accompaniment (free download)!! Beautifully done, and the story is cute and funny. Additionally my husband plays cello, which makes it extra special for my daughter - so hopefully we'll be able to find sheet music too because I suspect this will become a requested song haha

[Kristine Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this sturdy, colorful board book with the accompanying free download of Yo-Yo Ma's music (and fun narration of the animal-sleeping sounds). What a delight! The kids always love Sandra Boynton's books from the very youngest ages, and I cannot wait to share this with my grandbaby. I look forward to seeing if it works well as a bedtime story, or if that fun ending makes for too many giggles to settle down.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Oxford Public Library. We are working our way through all of Sandra Boynton’s books.

We pulled out the book to read at Common Grounds, a coffee shop we were trying in town. Jack read the book to himself first and was delighted to babble his own story and flip through the pages while sitting in a big boy chair. When he was done, I read it to him. He enjoyed the silly animal noises and the elephant at the end.

[Sylvia Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 11-month old giggled the first time I read this to her. She usually does not sit through a brand new book the first time, but she loved this one and ended up regularly wanting multiple readings in a row!

I enjoy the rhyme, how each sound matches its animal, the simple illustrations, and the climax with the elephant at the end.

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the single-animal focus per page, and of course that punctuating "Snore." My reading experience was enhanced by the accompanying soundtrack, which--in addition to youtube--can be found on Workman Publishing's Soundcloud, along with 9 other Boynton tracks. https://soundcloud.com/user-923976797...

[Tawny Port · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and the story has a fun twist that my grandson is always excited to get to. The downloadable soundtrack is wonderful (Yo Yo Ma). There is also a great YouTube video read of the book

[Rich Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story and onomatopoeia snores are cute enough, but the free audio accompaniment featuring Yo-Yo Ma really make this book stand out from other good night stories. After the first couple of pages, E. got excited and started hurriedly trying to turn the pages.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved Sandra Boynton since I first saw her Wee Fish Ewe a Mare Egrets Moose card back in the 70s. She hasn't lost her touch. If you're on Facebook, follow her for a dose of humor-- I've become more acquainted with her music there, which I love as much as her art and writing.

[Shauna Ludlow Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute board book about animal sounds at night. It includes info for a free download of the book narrated by Keith Boynton with music by Yo-Yo Ma.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

In classic Boynton, not everything is peaceful on this jungle night! Be sure to listen to the narration, backed by a soundtrack by Yo-Yo Ma - it's absolutely worth it!

[Margaret Gerberding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always thought Sandra Boynton books should be set to music, and this board book has a soundtrack by Yo Yo Ma!

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The free audio download was a bit spooky sounding; I enjoyed it, but my grandson liked my reading better.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is adorable! The soundtrack is cute too.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun board book. Also has accompanying music downloads !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56aEu...

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+ review here

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

adorable. perfect. rhyming text. it tells the sounds of the different jungle animals as they sleep. elephant lets out a big snore and all the animals wake up

[DAB-E · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Grandsons love this book (ages 1 and 2). They especially love the sound from the elephant! Listen to the audio too. Well worth it.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny and silly sounds.

[Kelly]

I cannot wait to hear the audio that goes with this! It's a very cute and very funny book. Great last spread.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nighttime symphony of jungle animal noises.

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another one of the books my one year old is constantly picking up and flipping through by herself. She loves it when we read this one to her. It's surprisingly calming.