Ape

This picture-book-on-video presents the titular 2007 Parents Choice Award, written by conservation biologist Martin Jenkins (The Emperor's Egg [VL 3/06], Chameleons Are Cool [VL 5/07]) and illustrated in color and black-and-white by former zookeeper Vicky White. Narrated by Matthew Dyer and featuring African-inspired background music, Ape presents information on the world's great apes: orangutans (mostly vegetarians who use their long hands to grab fruit and make a nest each night), chimps (who make primitive tools and eat termites and do a lot of biting and hitting among their familial gang), bonobos (who chatter and hoot while feeding in trees in the rainforests of the Congo Basin), and gorillas (who lounge and sleep a lot and can live up to 50 years). Humans, the final group covered, live long lives and are super-smart (thank you, thank you). The DVD includes an informative “Did You Know” segment outlining ape locations around the globe, population estimates, and links to information about saving the animals from extinction. Suitable for children aged 3 to 8, Ape is easily recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)