Anyone who has kids, or who has been a kid, knows what getting ready for bed is like. After the lights go out and the kisses have been distributed, its time to party! This book shows what happens when naughty little monkeys don't listen to their mama. For students, they can participate in the reading of this story as it is extremely repetitive. As the reader points to the words, students can start to recognize sight words, such as the, his, said, words kindergartners are just learning to recognize. It also helps children to learn to count backwards from five to one, and develop sight recognition skills for number sets.
I enjoy the artistic medium that the illustrator chose. She used shading with color pencils to draw pictures that extend the meaning of the story. For example, the line "one fell off and bumped his head" doesn't give much information, but the pictures show the monkeys crying while mama monkey bandages them up, one by one. The last page is definitely a surprise, after all the monkey's are asleep in bed, mama has found her own entertainment. But, you'll have to read it to find out what it is!!!
This book is a definite classic. I was a nanny for a two and three year old earlier this year, and they would spontaneously start saying this rhyme out loud when playing in their playroom. It is a fantastic book for children, and adults certainly love it, because it is just so catchy and cute! You mention that the version you read is "retold by Eileen Christelow." Do you know how your version is different from the original?
ReplyDeleteReading this review brought back a lot of childhood memories! I'm pretty sure every child has heard this story, but I've only heard it in rhyme-form not read it in a book format. The visualization of the text and accompanying pictures are sure to lend themselves to greater enjoyment and comprehension.
ReplyDeleteIn my years of subbing, I've probably read this book at least 5 times a year to kids. It's a great read-aloud because kids can jump in and participate. After the first few lines, the kids can usually take over and finish the book themsevles.
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