Marguerite W. Davol

"In the beginning, Snake was round -- as round as a coconut. As round as the full moon rising over the baobab tree. And when Snake wanted to get from here to there or from there to here, he didn't slither and hiss, Instead he puffed himself up saying 'Hup, Hup, Hup,' and began to roll along -- around, around, around.
The problem was that Snake never cared a basket of bananas for anyone but himself."

Snake just rolls along, paying no attention as he meets (and sometimes runs into) other animals. In each confrontation, Snake causes the other animal to acquire its own characteristics -- spots on the hyena, the lion's mane, the ostrich's speed, the crocodile's bumpy back, etc. In the end, Snake indeed becomes long and skinny... and hisses.

Enhanced by Mercedes McDonald's lively, quirky illustrations, this original pourquoi (why) tale is fun to read aloud. Listeners love to participate in all the sounds and movements. These are set off by the print used in the book, adding to the fun. For example, "around, around, around" is rounded on the page.

From Publisher's Weekly: Davol's engaging, intentionally repetitous tale also encourages children to chime in...
From Booklist: From catchy repetitive phrases to sound effects, the story has the appeal of oral language...