Monkey

August 8, 2016
Monkey’s family is growing in this follow-up to 2015’s Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten, and while Monkey may have gotten used to school, he’s unexcited about becoming a big brother: “I like being a little brother,” he moans after getting the news. Brown realistically conveys Monkey’s journey from a place of skepticism to one of acceptance and love as the family prepares for the baby’s arrival, including pulling out old baby photos, visiting the doctor, and tackling the often-perplexing challenge of crib assembly. As in the previous book, Brown’s hand-drawn text and scribble-covered mixed-media illustrations combine to create a story that feels intimately connected to the experiences and perspectives of its young audience. Ages 3–7.

July 15, 2016
With the help of his parents and big brother, Monkey gets ready to become a big brother, too.An anthropomorphic monkey family composed of a pregnant mother, a father, big brother, and little brother prepares to welcome a third monkey-child. Everyone is happy about the baby, except, as the title suggests, for Monkey. "I like being a little brother," is his response as the others revel in their excitement. While they anticipate, reminisce, and prepare, Monkey frets and tries to work out his feelings. Ultimately, a visit to the doctor's office with Mommy allows Monkey to hear the baby's heartbeat, and this seems to make him feel more at peace and perhaps even excited, too. But this crucial emotional shift is quite understated in both text and art, which undermines successful storytelling. Brown's colored-pencil-and-gouache illustrations will seem familiar to fans of his Arthur books and TV series, but the hand-lettered text and linework successfully render the overall style more expressive than the flatter aesthetic found in those stories. Daddy and Mommy involve Monkey in baby preparations, and when Monkey holds his new sister in the hospital, he is unequivocally happy. Ultimately, however, there's little to distinguish this new-baby book from others with the same well-trod theme. There's not much new about this new-baby book. (Picture book. 3-5)

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June 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Monkey is upset when he discovers that a new baby is on its way. Although his brother sings the praises of being an older sibling and the family helps to prepare him by visiting babies and reading books about them, Monkey has nightmares and even draws a picture in which the infant flies "far away into space." Unhappy about his attitude but undaunted, his parents show Monkey his baby pictures, take out his baby clothes, and let him listen to the baby's heartbeat and feel it kick. Monkey helps Mommy pack her suitcase for the hospital and assists Daddy in assembling the crib. The cartoon illustrations, executed in colored pencils and gouache and accompanied by hand-lettering, have a childlike feel. Most appear on backgrounds filled with lines and scribbles. The text presents a boy not easily convinced he should surrender his place as little brother. He would rather play with friends than accompany Mommy to the doctor, and he wants to hang on to his baby cup. But the final illustration assures readers that Monkey is finally ready to provide his baby sister with what "babies need most...love" as he cuddles her and offers her his own beloved sippy cup. VERDICT While this book doesn't break any new ground, it can still reassure youngsters who share Monkey's reluctance to welcome a new sibling. A solid addition with adorable illustrations.-Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Greenwich, CT

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 21, 2017
Having previously adjusted to kindergarten and a new sibling, Monkey struggles with falling asleep in this simultaneously funny and sympathetic story. Brown again uses childlike handwriting, pencil scribbles, and splotches of paint to give the sense that Monkey is telling his own story. Monkey’s complaints will be familiar to many families (“I’m thirsty,” “I’m not tired”), as will his parents’ efforts to help (warm milk, a backrub) and the effects of not enough sleep (a young lion stares at Monkey with concern the next day—he has fallen asleep mid-swing on the playground). Counting dinosaurs at bedtime leads to raucous fun (“He flies with the Dimorphodons. He rocks with T. rex”), an outpouring of energy that sends Monkey to sleep. Brown’s attention to detail in his gouache and colored pencil images elevates an otherwise familiar struggling-with-sleep story. Ages 3–7.