Grumpy Monkey
A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the The Why-Askers stage.
Why it fits The Why-Askers (for preschoolers whose every page sparks a question)
Jim Panzee is grumpy and everyone's fixes make it worse. Its radical message: you're allowed to feel bad for a while. Preschool emotional honesty with jungle-sized laughs.
What makes it special
Its message is quietly radical in a fix-it-fast culture: sometimes you're grumpy, and you're allowed to just be grumpy for a while. Max Lang's jungle of well-meaning advice-givers earns real laughs while the point sinks in. The final spread — grumpy together, in companionable silence — is friendship drawn exactly right.
From the publisher
Jim the chimpanzee is in a terrible mood for no good reason. His friends can t understand it how can he be in a bad mood when it s SUCH a beautiful day? They encourage him not to hunch, to smile, and to do things that…
About Suzanne Lang
Suzanne Lang writes and produces children's television, and is the author of the Grumpy Monkey series, illustrated by her husband Max Lang. Grumpy Monkey (2018) debuted at #8 on the New York Times bestseller list, reached #1, and stayed on the list for 25 weeks.
Also by this author: Grumpy Monkey Party Time! · Grumpy Monkey Up All Night
More from “Big Feelings, First Friendships”
This book is part of The Best Books for Preschoolers: 30 Teacher Picks (The Why-Askers) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →
Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.