Skip to main content

Monkey of the Month

Monkey of the Month
by Adam Kramer
illustrated by David Kramer
Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. Ltd, c2012.
unpaged picture book.
 
A boy who usually got boring presents for his birthday was surprised one year to receive notice that he was enrolled in the "Monkey of the Month Club". A monkey every month? This was sure to make life more exciting! His mother was rather fearful of this gift until the first one arrived. They dubbed her "Cinderella" because all she did was clean and clean and clean. The next one, a giant ape, loved to decorate. Just as the mom was getting used to the idea of these animals in her house, an orangutan arrived who was not at all helpful. After many months and many types of monkeys the mother finally sent them all packing as she couldn't handle it anymore. The boy was sad in his now quiet and calm house. "Then exactly one month later, there was a knocking at the door..."
 
This fun story is told in rhyme, though some of the rhymes are a tad awkward and forced. The illustrations are extremely bright and colorful, sometimes a little too colorful. As an adult reading this to myself I felt it was rather mediocre and the colors a little off-putting in their garishness. However, preschoolers love the rhyme and the lively pictures that tell such a silly story. And many a youngster will be wanting to know how they too can become a member of the Monkey of the Month Club.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...