Tugg and Teeny: Jungle Surprises

Meet Tugg and Teeny. Best friends since... well, forever! Tugg (a gorilla) and Teeny (a monkey) live together in their jungle neighborhood, Sidekick Thicket. As opposite as night and day, the two friends work and play together, each helping the other face life's challenges. Lively, impulsive Teeny always wants to try new things. Sure and steady Tugg is always there to lend a hand or give a word of encouragement. In Book Two of this beginning chapter book series, Teeny ponders strange and quirky situations in the jungle. All with the help of her best friend Tugg.

Ohioana Quaterly

Tugg and Teeny is about a monkey named Teeny and a gorilla named Tugg who go on adventures with their jungle friends. They help their friends with their problems and explore the jungle and learn lessons along the way. We think this book would be be good for kids at a lower reading level than second and third graders. This book has good life lessons. In Chapter One, it teaches you that with teamwork you will succeed. Chapter Two also emphasizes that life is not about winning; it is about having fun. However, in Chapter Three, Tugg shouldn’t have teased Teeny about the kite being a bird. The animals’ names all rhyme, except for Violet the warthog. In the illustrations, Teeny looks like a boy; perhaps a bow could have helped us know that Teeny is a girl. This is a good book for younger aged children. We personally think this book is cute and enjoyable.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Tugg and Teeny Jungle Surprises is one of three books in a brand-new beginning reader series written by renowned author J. Patrick Lewis. Award-winner Christopher Denise brings the jungle story to life with detailed and lively illustrations. New readers will quickly fall in love with best friends Tugg, a kind gorilla, and Teeny, an inquisitive monkey. Alongside many other jungle friends, Tugg and Teeny search for a lost treasure, host a wacky zebra race, and discover a strange bird flying in the sky.

Jungle Surprises is written for readers in grades 2-3. It’s divided into three chapters and contains 994 words. My daughter, who just turned 6, read the first chapter out loud to me without any difficulty. Though I told her to wait to read the next chapter, the next day she handed the book to me with a smile and said she’d already finished it! She said she liked the story, and just to make sure she didn’t miss anything, I had her narrate the rest of the book.

In my opinion, beginning readers can be rather dull and bland unless they feature timeless characters and stories such as Dick and Jane, Curious George, and Dr. Seuss, or well-loved cartoon characters like Care Bears, Thomas the Train, and Barbie. This is not the case with Tugg and Teeny. Though the characters will be new to children, engaging text and delightful illustrations make this new beginning reader a hit!

I recommend this book to newly independent readers who are ready to read their first chapter book out loud or to established independent readers. My daughter’s enthusiasm is all the proof I need that this was a great story!