So Say The Little Monkeys

Rating:
Summary: Rainforest Fun
Review:
The talents of the prolific Nancy Van Laan ("In a Circle Long Ago," and many others) and illustrator Yumi Heo ("Sometimes I'm Bombaloo") combine in this cheery retelling of a Brazilian folktale about blackmouth monkeys. The monkeys frolic through the Brazilian rainforest, swinging from vine to vine, and, most importantly, climbing the thorny tall trees:

Still they climb, UP-UP!
And they slide, Down-Down!
They sing, "Jibba-jibba-jabba."
swinging round and round

JUMP, JABBA JABBA,
RUN, JABBA JABBA,
SLIDE, JABBA JABBA,
Tiny monkeys having fun!

But these same trees keep them from having a comfortable home, unlike their neighbors the armadillo and the toucan. The monkeys SAY they're going to build a house, but fun and delicious things (e.g., bananas!) keep them from doing it!

The short rhymes and wonderful animal and nature sounds make this a very fun book to read out loud. The rhythms are musical, and the capitalized sounds (e.g., PLINKA PLINKA, WOOYA WOOYA, GURR-YUH GURR-YUH) are your cue to turn up the narrative volume for your little one. They'll eat it up. Slightly older toddlers may also enjoy the monkeys' priorities of fun and food over practicality. Yumi Heo has an unusual palette: I love the blues in her bubbling river and stormy sky. Her repetition of the playing monkeys nicely complements the repeated sounds of the text, and her flat, "folkish" drawings, filled with repeated designs and iconic imagery, evoke the teeming rainforest. The book was included in "The 3rd Edition of The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children." A simple but superb performance by van Laan and Heo.




Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: Both my three year old daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's rhyming verse is fun to read and the pictures are captivating. The actual story of how the carefree monkeys avoid making their night-time nests is light-hearted and amusing. My daughter and I borrowed this entertaining book from our local library. We liked it so well that I intend to buy it for her collection of favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: My 7 month old loves this book. His face lights up when he hears the rain "plinka, plinka" and the wind "Wooya, Wooya". He also loves the pictures. I know this will always be one of his favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: My 7 month old loves this book. His face lights up when he hears the rain "plinka, plinka" and the wind "Wooya, Wooya". He also loves the pictures. I know this will always be one of his favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Why do the tiny monkeys insist on sleeping amongst thorns?
Review: The Rio Negro (Black River) is the second biggest river in Brazil, taking its name from its dark waters. In trees along the banks of the Rio Negro live tiny monkeys, which are called "blackmouths" by the local tribes. The reason for this is that their mouths are as dark as the waters of the river. These tiny monkeys live in tall palm tree that are full of sharp thorns and although the thorns are uncomfortable the monkeys sleep on top of them each night. If this seems somewhat strange to you this seems no less strange to the natives, who made up an amusing story to explain why the monkeys do this.

"So Say the Little Monkeys" is Nancy Van Laan's version of the tale told in the Brazilian rain forests about the blackmouth monkeys. Illustrated by Yumi Heo, this is a read-aloud book where children 3-7 will have fun with the constant refrain: "Jump, jabba jabba, run, jabba jabba, munch, jabba jabba, tiny, tiny monkeys having fun." Of course the jump/run/munch part changes depending on what the tiny monkeys are doing, so children too young to read will still be able to anticipate how the refrain will be different the next time around depending on what the little monkeys have been doing.

In "So Say the Little Monkeys" the tiny monkeys actually think about building themselves a shelter so they can have shelter from the rain (plinka plinka), the wind (wooya wooya), and the jaguar (gurr-yuh gurr-yuh), but it seems they always get distracted by something a lot more fun. Will young children who are listening to or reading this story figure out that maybe they have a lot in common with tiny monkeys? Maybe not. But they still should be able to appreciate the lesson of this story, namely that you should not put off for tomorrow something that you can do today.

Rating:
Summary: Why do the tiny monkeys insist on sleeping amongst thorns?
Review: The Rio Negro (Black River) is the second biggest river in Brazil, taking its name from its dark waters. In trees along the banks of the Rio Negro live tiny monkeys, which are called "blackmouths" by the local tribes. The reason for this is that their mouths are as dark as the waters of the river. These tiny monkeys live in tall palm tree that are full of sharp thorns and although the thorns are uncomfortable the monkeys sleep on top of them each night. If this seems somewhat strange to you this seems no less strange to the natives, who made up an amusing story to explain why the monkeys do this.

"So Say the Little Monkeys" is Nancy Van Laan's version of the tale told in the Brazilian rain forests about the blackmouth monkeys. Illustrated by Yumi Heo, this is a read-aloud book where children 3-7 will have fun with the constant refrain: "Jump, jabba jabba, run, jabba jabba, munch, jabba jabba, tiny, tiny monkeys having fun." Of course the jump/run/munch part changes depending on what the tiny monkeys are doing, so children too young to read will still be able to anticipate how the refrain will be different the next time around depending on what the little monkeys have been doing.

In "So Say the Little Monkeys" the tiny monkeys actually think about building themselves a shelter so they can have shelter from the rain (plinka plinka), the wind (wooya wooya), and the jaguar (gurr-yuh gurr-yuh), but it seems they always get distracted by something a lot more fun. Will young children who are listening to or reading this story figure out that maybe they have a lot in common with tiny monkeys? Maybe not. But they still should be able to appreciate the lesson of this story, namely that you should not put off for tomorrow something that you can do today.

Rating:
Summary: the RHYTHM is makes the book fun for young and old
Review: This book that is great to give to new families starting out their library. The rythm of this story makes it so fun to read and for the kids to listen to- over and over and over again. Its simple enough for the youngest child to have fun with and fill in the fun sounds, or a life lesson in getting, or not getting, your work done for older kids.

Rating:
Summary: the RHYTHM is makes the book fun for young and old
Review: This book that is great to give to new families starting out their library. The rythm of this story makes it so fun to read and for the kids to listen to- over and over and over again. Its simple enough for the youngest child to have fun with and fill in the fun sounds, or a life lesson in getting, or not getting, your work done for older kids.