Manners Are Not for Monkeys! Heather Tekavec. Illustrated by David Huyck. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2016. 32 pp., hardcover, $18.95. ISBN 978 1 77138-051-5. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 3-7. Review by Janet Beauchamp. **** /4

excerpt:

"I don't want you to tidy up!" Mother Monkey yelled. "I want good little monkeys who drop peels on the ground where they belong, screech loudly, swing all together and chew with their mouths open! Now please... TRY TO BEHAVE LIKE MONKEYS!"

Manners are Not for Monkeys! is a funny story which makes the reader realize how similar monkeys are to human children. The roles can easily be reversed if not for the conditioning by the parents. Mama Monkey plays a very interesting role in the entertaining situation when a local zookeeper puts the monkey cage right beside the children's playground. There is a funny twist at the end which leaves readers smiling and perhaps thinking about themselves, their own children or their siblings. Both monkeys and humans can forget their manners sometimes.

      The illustrations in Manners are Not for Monkeys! do a wonderful job of bringing the story to life, with children looking like monkeys and monkeys looking like children. The chaos of the monkey cage and playground truly show the fun being had by all. My girls really liked all of the animal illustrations on the front and back inside covers.

Highly Recommended.

Janet Beauchamp, the mother of three girls, is a high school teacher and teacher-librarian who lives in L'Amable, ON.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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