Evangeline Mudd and the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle

Illustrator: Andrea Wesson
ISBN: 9780763618766 / 9780763626143
Format: Hardcover / Paperback, 196pp
Pub. Date: March 2004 / March 2007
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Age Range: 7 to 10

Learning to swing from the rafters, eating peanut-butter sandwiches with her feet . . . Evangeline Mudd has had an unusual childhood. Her primatologist parents have taken their child-rearing cues from the golden-haired ape, whose resourceful and fun-loving lifestyle they deeply admire. But life takes a drastic turn when Evangeline's parents are called away from their cozy New England bungalow on a research trip to the Ikkinasti Jungle. And when they mysteriously fail to return, it's up to Evangeline to travel to Ikkinasti and find them herself! In this comical, fast-paced tale, David Elliott ventures deep in the jungle for some close encounters with giant spitting spiders, a crazed developer, a retired headhunter, some persistent primates, and an impressively plucky heroine.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES
"Evangeline Mudd is a lucky little girl: raised by primatologist parents in the fashion of the gentle and remarkable golden-haired apes, she grows up swinging from chandeliers, utterly and completely secure." -Kirkus Reviews

"There are some lovely, imaginative touches in this entertainingly improbable tale. . . Ecological themes, humor, intriguing characters, and touches of absurdity should appeal to youngsters with burgeoning social consciences." -School Library Journal

The "madcap adventures will appeal to kids with a taste for silliness, as will Wesson's sprightly illustrations. Elliott's wry asides to readers and his penchant for goofy names add to the tale's good-natured nonsense." -Publishers Weekly

"Elliott's writing is light and funny, with much attention to gigglicious wordplay and over-the-top caricatures." -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

-Maine State Book Award Nominee
-Thai edition

SOMETHING YOU DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK
Dadoo is one of my favorite characters. I’d planned to have him come back in the second Evangeline, but he never showed up. Maybe he wants a book of his own.