Rounding Up A Friend: Roly Poly Pangolin by Anna Dewdney

ROLY POLY, VERY SMALL,

DOESN'T LIKE NEW THINGS AT ALL!

Roly Poly is a very young pangolin, and the farthest he gets from Mama is to ride around on her tail while she rustles up her dinner. Not that Roly Poly is having any of those strange ants and slugs she likes, though. And when a curious little monkey peeps from behind a bush, hoping to play, Roly Poly shyly covers his face with his paws.

But then Mama moves out of sight and Roly is alone. And then he hears a new sound--one he's never heard before.

SCARY MONSTER SOUND? OH, NO!
ROLY POLY, GO GO GO!

A very small Roly tries to run, but he trips and rolls tail over head downhill. But wait! Pangolins do have one trick, and Roly Poly knows how to do it! He rolls himself into a tight ball, tail over head, and lets his large leathery scales protect him.

Safe at last.

But Roly is a bit curious. Is that the same teensy, tiny sound again? He moves his tail, just a tiny bit, to make a Roly Poly peephole. And what he sees is a happy surprise.

ROLY POLY VERY SMALL,
HEARS ANOTHER TINY CALL.

OPENS EYES A TEENSY CRACK...
ANOTHER BALL IS PEEPING BACK!

It's a pretty little blue pangolin, peeping shyly back at him, and Roly Poly sees one new thing he's going to like getting to know.

Anna Dewdney, author-illustrator of the beloved Llama, Llama books, has shown that she knows how to get inside the mindset of the average little preschooler as he or she navigates the milestones of early life, as in her best-selling Llama Llama Red Pajama and its sequels. And in her brand-new Roly Poly Pangolin (Viking, 2010) Dewdney has an appealing new character whose youthful curiosity helps him finally come out of his shell!

An afterword by the author even offers a few interesting facts about the endangered pangolin.