Monkey and Me

Product Information

The illustrations are cute, but not very colorful or engaging for the youngest picture book audience. Also in the end when the little girl falls asleep I would have preferred the last frame be her laying down for nap time.

I think that many little kids can relate to having a favorite stuffed animal and imagining themselves going on adventures with it. With a handful of colors Emily Gravett really does focus more on portraying the animals and giving true understanding for the reader of what each animal does. The simple but repetitive language encourages speech development and it is quiet poetic if you ask me. Great book for Story Times because of its anticipation for what happens on the next page - simple repetitive text can be sung with any melody and draws everyone to participate by either repeating or singing each word.

This would work best for a child at the first stages of learning to read, as it not only uses the same few words over and over but also has visual cues to help guess the non-repeated words.

After a couple of readings, children will surely anticipate the next page with little to no prompting.

Very repetitive in words, yes, but that word work well early readers, as well as getting the kids to chant along with you. I did like the illustrations and thought the animals shown, as well as the little girl, were adorable. My youngest child has always struggled to sit through a book (quite opposite to my eldest) but this book has captivated her.