Mammals - Apes & Monkeys, Apes & Monkeys, Folklore & Mythology - By Subject

Monkey Business

Name: Monkey Business
Author: Shirley Climo
ISBN: 9780805063929

by Shirley Climo, Erik Brooks

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Overview

If someone is a "monkey dodger" what does he do?

A collection of stories, facts, and lore about monkeys from around the world

This definitive collection of fourteen stories, facts, and lore about monkeys from Africa, Asia, and the Americas will answer all of the monkey questions you never knew you had.

With lavish full-color illustrations, this is more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

Synopsis

If someone is a "monkey dodger" what does he do?

A collection of stories, facts, and lore about monkeys from around the world

This definitive collection of fourteen stories, facts, and lore about monkeys from Africa, Asia, and the Americas will answer all of the monkey questions you never knew you had.

With lavish full-color illustrations, this is more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

Publishers Weekly

More than a dozen stories plus riddles, proverbs and, yes, even "monkey sign language" comprise Monkey Business: Stories from Around the World by Shirley Climo, illus. by Erik Brooks. Brooks's full-page and spot illustrations play up the variety of the simians, from the Congo to Brazil to the Philippines. Some deliver morals in the form of a fable, others explain why monkeys behave as they do. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Shirley Climo

Monkey Business is Shirley Climo's twenty-third book for children. This collection combines her love of storytelling with her fascination for finding the facts that hide behind the fiction. Her previous books include several story collections, such as Magic and Mischief: Tales from Cornwall, illustrated by Anthony Bacon Venti, and A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World, illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. Ms. Climo lives with her husband in California.

Erik Brooks is the author and illustrator of The Practically Perfect Pajamas and Octavius Bloom and the House of Doom. He had fun doing research for this book, especially visiting the snow monkeys at the Minnesota Zoo. Mr. Brooks lives in north-central Washington State.

Visit Erik Brooks at his website: www.erikbrooks.com

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

VOYA

Monkey Business is an eclectic collection of monkey facts, folklore, expressions, legends, proverbs, parables, and stories. On the one hand, it offers up a good deal of monkey trivia -- What do monkeys eat? Are they nocturnal? What is a grease monkey? Monkey Island? Monkey pie? -- while in the same breath retelling classic monkey tales such as that of the famous Ramayana Epic Poem about Prince Rama and the monkey. These monkey adventures are told from places all around the world and are classified into three main locations in the book: Africa and Madagascar, the Americas, and Asia. The black-and-white illustrations provide interest and a visual understanding of the varying nature of how monkeys look, behave, and respond intellectually worldwide. This text does an excellent job of illuminating these creatures who throughout history have been used by different cultures as a means of revealing something about the human self that might not ordinarily be seen. VOYA CODES: 4Q 2P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2005, Henry Holt, 128p.; Illus. Biblio., Ages 11 to 15.
—Elaine J. O'Quinn

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-This well-told and entertaining book of monkey lore draws on pourquoi and folktales, mythology, facts, and trivia. The book is organized geographically, and the author has matched each story with a specific species of monkey. An annotated bibliography gives further details about the stories and Climo's decisions on how to retell them. While staying true to the originals, she adds engaging details and dialogue. In addition to folklore, the reteller includes a number of proverbs, such as "The monkey does not put its paw into the jaguar's mouth twice." Unfortunately, their messages do not always match the themes of the stories they follow, which is slightly jarring. Numerous colored-pencil-and-watercolor illustrations capture the myriad cultures and creatures represented. As a whole, this collection is unique, well written, and fun. Monkeys are a perennial favorite and the book is sure to find many enthusiastic readers.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

On your way home from the zoo, pick up this anthology of lively folktales, proverbs and fun facts about the world's monkeys and their relationship to people. Highlighting stories and information from Africa and Madagascar (with a full description of lemurs, monkey ancestors saved from extinction on this island), the Americas and Asia, the author energetically retells stories from famous sources including the Indian Ramayana, and the Mayan Popul Voh, as well as pourquoi stories, such as the West African fable explaining "Why a Monkey's Not a Man." Climo sometimes adapts the tales, specifying certain types of monkeys (always citing reasons), and she includes an extensive, annotated bibliography. The colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations are full of action. A playful collection that can inspire a classroom unit, a storyteller or a child interested in animal lore. (Folklore. 8-11)