SOMEONE TELL THE LEMMINGS

In Read the Book, Lemmings! by Ame Dyckman with illustrations by Zachariah OHora, three small, adorably fuzzy, and sadly illiterate rodents evidently have yet to read the definitive book on lemmings, which CLEARLY states that lemmings do NOT jump off cliffs.

Aboard the S.S. Cliff (a barge which may or may not in fact be a large whale), First Mate Foxy, the very much literate arctic fox, is surprised by the revelations of his new leisure reading material, Everything About Lemmings. “Huh! Says here, lemmings don’t jump off cliffs,” he muses aloud.

Unfortunately, the three aforementioned local lemmings also suffer from selective hearing, in addition to being highly suggestible and terrible eavesdroppers. At the mention of “jump,” they immediately dive enthusiastically overboard, which in turn necessitates a quick rescue effort by Foxy. He takes the impressionable lemmings under his wing, gives them tiny hats as well as ridiculous, yet apt, names (“Jumper,” “Me Too,” and “Ditto”) in order to better scold them.

What follows is a hilarious tale of repeated dives, rescues, scoldings, and schoolings.

The author explains the inspiration for this picture book as a late discovery that lemmings don’t jump off cliffs, followed immediately by the thought: “‘OH NO! DID ANYONE TELL THE LEMMINGS?!’ So we made this book. You’re welcome, lemmings.” The author-illustrator duo previously collaborated to create the equally charming picture books Wolfie the Bunny (reviewed here) and Horrible Bear!

Ages 4+