Quick, Little Monkey!

by Sarah L. Thomson, Lita Judge (Illustrator)

Overview

When Little Monkey's curiosity causes her to slip and fall to the dark, shadowy rainforest floor, she must hide—quick!—because an ocelot is looking for lunch. Thanks to Papa, Little Monkey knows just what to do to stay safe. And thanks to her own wit and speed, she escapes. But no sooner is she safe from the ocelot than she finds herself wrapped in the coils of an emerald tree boa. This exciting adventure will enthrall readers as Little Monkey faces one challenge after another and will also teach them about the fascinating lives of pygmy marmoset monkeys, the smallest monkeys in the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629791005
Publisher:	Highlights
Publication date:	03/08/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Sarah L. Thomson has written everything from picture books to easy readers to middle grade and young adult novels. She lives in Portland, Maine. Visit sarahlthomson.com.

Lita Judge is the author-illustrator for over a dozen fiction and nonfiction picture books which have received numerous awards including the Jane Addams Honor, ALA Notables, and Kirkus Best Books list. She lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Visit litajudge.net.

Editorial Reviews

12/07/2015
As a baby pygmy marmoset rides on her father’s back, he shows her how to “read” the jungle landscape for predators—the shadow of wings above, the sound of “soft footsteps” on the ground below—and to stay safe. “Hide here” Papa tells her. “Keep still.” When Little Monkey can’t resist reaching for a butterfly, she tumbles away from Papa, “down into a quiet dark of slow roots and still earth and cold shadow,” and into some very dangerous territory. But Little Monkey remembers her lessons and manages to make her way back to Papa. The wide-eyed primate heroine is cute and plucky, and Judge’s (Good Morning to Me!) woodsy-toned watercolors create moments of high drama by playing up the difference in scale between the tiny marmoset and the rest of the world (in one scene, she’s dwarfed by the huge eyes of a hungry ocelot). Thomson’s (Cub’s Big World) poetic text can feel a little overworked in places, but overall it’s an evocative story of survival of the itty-bittiest. Ages 3–7. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Bold pencil lines, atmospheric watercolor washes in bright greens, browns, and yellows, and double-page spreads...perfectly convey the drama and energy of jungle life. Exaggerated close-ups of Little Monkey's face capture her range of emotions, from exuberant joy as she rides on Papa's back to paralyzing terror as she faces the unknown. Exciting jungle high jinks starring one adorable little monkey and her protective Papa." —Kirkus Reviews

"As a baby pygmy marmoset rides on her father's back, he shows her how to 'read' the jungle landscape for predators... and to stay safe.... The wide-eyed primate heroine is cute and plucky, and Judge's... woodsy-toned watercolors create moments of high drama... an evocative story of survival of the itty-bittiest." —Publishers Weekly

"This fast-paced adventure in a South American forest will have readers on the edge of their seats.... The illustrations... bring heightened tension and emotion to the crisp, lilting text.... An author's note at the end tells readers more about the story and about pygmy marmosets, including that the father provides much of the childcare. This dad and daughter escapade will easily engage audiences who like drama and action in their nature stories." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Little monkey’s world is high in the tops of the forest trees. The full-page illustrations on a green background with one to two sentences on each page invite the reader into little monkey’s world. She swings from tree to tree on the back of papa monkey, viewing the world around her as he tells her how to be safe. One day little monkey slips and falls to the ground. Smart little monkey remembers papa’s words to keep her safe. Papa monkey arrives just in time to save little monkey and take her back into her leafy world high above the ground. Young children will thrill to little monkey’s adventure and know she is safe in papa’s care. Close-up pictures of the little wide-eyed monkey and her papa with their striped tales streaming behind give children a clear picture of a pygmy marmoset. Reviewer: Kathleen Ulrich; Ages 3 to 5.

Children's Literature - Kathleen Ulrich

02/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—This fast-paced adventure in a South American forest will have readers on the edge of their seats. Little Monkey and her father (pygmy marmosets) are swinging up in the treetops until they see the shadow of a flying predator (a black hawk-eagle). Father patiently gives Little Monkey instructions: "Hold tight." "Hide here." "Keep still." Little Monkey follows directions until a bright butterfly tempts her out of hiding and she falls down into danger, where she must face two more scary predators (an ocelot and an emerald tree boa) alone. Remembering her father's words and actions, she manages (barely!) to protect herself and get to a place where he can rescue her. The illustrations, done in graphite pencil and watercolor, bring heightened tension and emotion to the crisp, lilting text. Little Monkey's endearing and expressive eyes and facial features make her plight all the more palpable to readers, particularly in the spreads dominated by a predator. An author's note at the end tells readers more about the story and about pygmy marmosets, including that the father provides much of the childcare. VERDICT This dad and daughter escapade will easily engage audiences who like drama and action in their nature stories.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

2015-12-08
Clinging to her father's back, Little Monkey travels safely across jungle treetops until one day she's distracted and tumbles downward to the dark forest floor, where hungry predators lurk. Rhythmic text describes how Little Monkey loves "to fly" from "vine to vine" and "branch to branch," holding tightly to her Papa's fur as he carries her "high and safe and quick in the bright, loud, green world." When Papa warns Little Monkey to hide on a tree branch and stay still, she can't resist reaching out for a butterfly and slips "down into a quiet dark." Remembering Papa's advice to hide, keep still, and hold tight, Little Monkey barely escapes a menacing ocelot by climbing up to a "coiled and curved" vine that turns out to be a sinister boa. Fortunately, Papa arrives in the nick of time. Bold pencil lines, atmospheric watercolor washes in bright greens, browns, and yellows, and double-page spreads of Little Monkey's vertical descent and Papa's horizontal flights perfectly convey the drama and energy of jungle life. Exaggerated close-ups of Little Monkey's face capture her range of emotions, from exuberant joy as she rides on Papa's back to paralyzing terror as she faces the unknown. Exciting jungle high jinks starring one adorable little monkey and her protective Papa. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews