The Umbrella
By Jan Brett
The Story
A boy named Carlos climbs a tree in the Costa Rican cloud forest, dropping his banana-leaf umbrella below, where a tree frog, baby tapir, jaguar, and more all try to squeeze inside as it floats along.
Why It's Special
For the kid obsessed with animals piling on top of each other, this is a jungle-sized game of squeeze-in-if-you-can.
- Big idea: There's only so much room in the world, and eventually something has to give.
- Vibes: lush, cheerful, and steadily building toward a tumble
Perfect For Kids Who
- enjoy stories that build to a big, silly collapse
- love spotting hidden details in richly illustrated scenes
- are curious about jungle animals and faraway places
- like to predict what happens next as things get more crowded
Ask Your Little Reader
- Story & prediction: How many animals do you think can fit under Carlos's umbrella before it tips over?
- Imagination: If you found a banana-leaf umbrella in the forest, which animal would you want to see climb in first?
- Real-life connection: Have you ever tried to squeeze too many people or toys into one small space?
- Observation: What animals did you spot hiding in the illustrations that Carlos never noticed?
- Feelings & empathy: How do you think Carlos felt when he came back without seeing a single animal?
