CM Magazine: Monkey Do!

________________ CM . . . . Volume V Number 18 . . . . May 7, 1999

Monkey Do!

Allan Ahlberg. Illustrated by Andre Amstutz.
Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press (Distributed in Canada by the University of Toronto Press), 1998.
32 pp., cloth, $19.99.
ISBN 0-7636-0466-6.

Subject Headings:
Monkeys-Fiction.
Day-Fiction.
Stories in rhyme.

Preschool / Ages 2-5.
Review by Lesley Beckett Balcom.

**** /4

excerpt:

Sunny morning, bright and early,
Things are stirring at the zoo.
Comes the keeper with his key ring,
Monkey see, Monkey do!

So the tale begins of a curious little monkey off for a day away from the zoo. And a wonderful day it is. His adventures include riding in a kangaroo's pouch, delivering mail, hiding in a station wagon full of kids, playing soccer in the playground, rescuing a kitten from a flag pole and narrowly escaping the huge jaws of a crocodile. As night falls, a weary little monkey wanders back to the zoo to find his mummy. Toddlers will delight in the story of the little monkey who does just what they want to do - imitate all the exciting things that grown-ups seem to do.

The book is a terrific example of text and illustrations working together. The bold, cartoon-style illustrations provide the humorous visual clues as to what the monkey will be up to next. The lively, rhyming text is sure to have little ones chanting along with "Monkey see, monkey do". This book is sure to be read over and over and over again!

Highly recommended.

Lesley Beckett Balcom is a public services librarian at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, NB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - MAY 7, 1999.