Monkey Bedtime

PreS-Gr 2–It’s almost bedtime, but one young boy can’t fall asleep due to a tapping on his window. Who should appear through the glass but an adorably tiny pygmy marmoset! Thinking the monkey will be harmless, the child welcomes him inside. It isn’t long before more and more monkeys arrive, including red-handed howlers, lion tamarins, macaques, and capuchins, to name a few, and start wreaking havoc around the house. As his mother’s footsteps and the likelihood of questions get closer, the child grows increasingly upset at the state of the house and behavior of the monkeys. Realizing the error of their ways, the monkeys quickly tidy up before returning home for the evening in a way reminiscent of the resolution of The Cat in the Hat, before revealing the comical concluding spreads. English’s text is a winning blend of dialogue and description for one-on-one or small group sharing, complemented by Gregory’s detailed and playful illustrations. Fans of Eileen Christelow’s “Five Little Monkeys” series and Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama Red Pajama are sure to enjoy this rhyming bedtime romp.