Heather TekavecBesprekingen

I think I enjoyed this one even more than my kids. When her children start behaving like the obedient humans that come to watch them, a frustrated monkey mothers gets creative.

Independent reading level:PK-1st grade

Oh, what a silly dog Max is! He's so determined to catch the thief stealing the farmer's plants that he misses the answers right in front of him. Kids will giggle as Max chases the thief across the farm, and they'll be eager to point out what Max has missed. Definitely a fun read.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.

Being a super hero, by being KIND.
Nice!!

What a great superhero book!!! It's about a superhero that anyone can be. Instead of children dreaming of having super powers after reading this, they will be trying to think of nice things they can do for others. It's funny and creative and inspiring.

Can wild animals actually be criminals and if so, what crimes could they possibly commit? Find out as you read the “rap sheets” in this fun informational book.
The author makes learning about some unusual animals fun and engaging by using a crime scene investigation format. The full color illustrations combine with the text to provide the reader a “rap sheet” full of facts about the “offender”. This book is recommended for recreational as well as early research use for readers in the second through fourth grades. Even though the author doesn’t include the usual reference helps, the facts are laid out in a fun easy to read format.

This hilarious book introduces readers to some noteworthy "criminals" of the animal kingdom, like spitting llamas, thieving bower birds, and jaywalking crabs.

The introductory spread shows a uniformed polar bear (adults will catch the joke of his graduation certificate from "Attenborough Investigation Academy" peering at a bulletin board full of mugshots of animal criminals.

Each spread gives the details on these criminal creatures. The left side of the page has their nickname, crime, mug shot, and a short narrative of their "criminal activity." The right side is their "rap sheet" with their animal type, distinguishing features, life span, sightings, and "gang name." The criminals include Ms. Jagged Jaws, an anglerfish, Copy Cat, a margay, Big Bad Mama, a cuckoo, Phony Caponey, a tufted capuchin, Baby Face, an antlion, and more.

The book ends with a list of rules for the animal kingdom and a mug shot of one more criminal, Cranky Pants, a sleepy-looking white boy who is refusing to go to bed!

This isn't a continuous narrative, that you could read aloud in storytime, nor it is a book kids can use for research (as one reviewer complained). Rather, it's a funny, informative, and unique take on some strange animal traits. It would make a fun classroom read-aloud, picking one profile to read at a time, or for kids to browse on their own.

My one caveat is that this is definitely a book whose humor and interest depends on your audience and community. I had no hesitation purchasing it for my small town, where the police force is very community-minded and known and trusted by the majority of the town and kids. Retired officers work with the schools and they have shared training with the library on how to de-escalate tense situations. If this was not the case, if your patrons are more likely to have had negative interactions with and perceptions of the police and law enforcement, this would be more traumatic than funny.

Verdict: Know your audience - if you've got the right audience, this is a funny, informative book that kids will enjoy.

ISBN: 9781525300240; Published March 2020 by Kids Can Press; Purchased for the library

Funny, nicely illustrated book of animal/insect trivia. Young naturalists will delight in it.

Funny short story, picture book on manners

Grandson didn't like it. He could not stay focused on it. Neither could I for that matter.

On each two-page spread, there are four animals. The animals each something about themselves or their habitat and each thing is different. Then we are told what they have in common or how they all the same, such as they have stripes or scales or tusks etc. I loved the science behind this but it is so much more than that. The message that no matter how different we all are, we are still all the same, we are human is a message that needs to be reiterated over and over. The illustrations are wonderful, so cute and playful. The vocabulary is descriptive, yet simple. the only complaint I have is that the animals are not named. It would be nice if they had been labeled so that children could ask questions and get further information. If they do not know what the animal is, that could prove to be difficult. This is a great book for primary classrooms and could be used in many different lessons. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

When the old zookeeper moves the monkeys to a cage near the family picnic and play area, things happen. The monkeys want to watch the children, not have the children watch them, so they start to imitate the children's behaviour and display manners. This really upsets mother monkey. When one set of children want the monkeys to behave like monkeys are supposed to, they take matters into their own hands.

The illustrations are absolutely wonderful with lots of detail and silliness. There will be a lot of discussions during the reading of the book using the illustrations as a guide. I am not sure about the ending of the book though. A group of children get locked up in a cage for roaring like lions, splashing like elephants and slopping their food like wild boars. They are at a zoo so children will imitate. An explanation would definitely have to accompany the ending for some children.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cute, but I feel like the kids in my life would rather be monkeys without manners. Adorable illustrations.

[I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.]

a storm is coming and the farm animals are trying to figure out how to stay safe during the storm.
2 books
1 cassette

This is a fun non fiction book about animals. It shows 4 animals at a time and tells their differences and the reader has to guess the similarity. If you like Steve Jenkins' books, you will like this too.

Lovely illustrations and scientifically sound.
This was a beautifully illustrated children's book, highlighting the similarities between many, apparently different, animals.
A blubbery walrus, a wrinkly elephant, a bristly warthog and a smooth narwhal are all very different at first glance, "but look closely now", they all have tusks. The catchy repetition of the phrase "but look closely now" worked really well to keep the rhythm and interest of the book's young audience.

My 15 month grandson was too young for the comparisons between the animals but he loved the images of the animals and making the noises of the ones he recognised.
Unfortunately the copy I received via NetGalley could not be viewed on my Kindle so this is not going to join The Forest Sleeps as one of our favourite books.

At the end of the book all the animals are repeated, with an opportunity to note more similarities between them - spots, numbers of legs, or webbed feet, for example. There is also an explanation for features such as tusks, shells, whiskers, etc.
I would imagine that this book would be popular in a pre-school library and for sharing with children between 2 and 5 years, it has plenty to offer for quite a varied age group.

This is a non fiction book about a family of monkeys that watch how good children behave and learn those behaviors. Their mom says that monkeys are not supposed to have manners, children are, and so the zookeeper switches the crazy children with the mannered monkeys. This is a funny book to teach good manners and how children should behave.

This book would be great to teach about manners in a kinder class. The story and illustrations go well together to convey the story line. Children will enjoy the humor.

"When the old zookeeper moved the monkeys to a cage beside the picnic area, she didn't know the trouble it would cause." She certainly didn't have even a tiny idea... The monkeys started observing the kids, and learning their manners. Mother Monkey can't believe her eyes. Why are the monkeys chewing with their mouth closed, taking turns and tidying the cage? "Manners are not for monkeys! Try to behave like monkeys!" she yelled.

One day it happened that a group of not very well behaved children visited the zoo, and they noticed right away the monkeys weren't behaving like they were supposed to. They started to show the monkeys how to swing, and screech, and scatter garbage all around... like monkeys. That's when the old zookeeper realized her terrible mistake. The children should be in the cage, and the monkeys outside!

The story is hilarious, and the illustrations totally added to the experience. Great option for a laugh-out-loud moment!

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Max is cute and energetic but hopelessly clueless.

A great story that is about a dog who is asked to find a thief by his master. He is not sure who or what the thief is, but the vegetables in his garden are becoming less and less available. I must say that both my five year old and my eight year old enjoyed his book. My eight year was able to read it to her brother very easily and both enjoyed the graphics. The story flowed very smoothly and both found the end to be funny. I was very grateful to have received this book as a giveaway from both goodreads and the author. I highly recommend this book for both parents and school libraries. I plan on showing this book to my son's kindergarten teacher and seeing if she would like to add this to her classroom. I honestly believe the other kids would enjoy it.