Chimp and Zee [Hardcover]

Laurence Anholt (Author), Catherine Anholt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

This specially oversized picture book is a natural for read-aloud storytime, whether it's to a room full of youngsters or a child sitting on one's lap. The joyful, exuberant rhymes of the text are a delight to read, and the brilliantly colorful artwork offers an eyeful with each turn of the page. Chimp and Zee promises to be a brand-new classic, and their adventures have only just begun....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Chimp and Zee are a pair of impish banana-mongering monkeys who can't seem to keep themselves from monkeying around. One day they accompany "Mumkey" into Jungletown to shop for more bananas. In spite of their mother's warnings, the feisty twins promptly find themselves on a bigger adventure than they ever intended--one could almost say elephantine in proportion.

Catherine and Laurence Anholt have collaborated on more than 60 picture books, including Sophie and the New Baby, What Makes Me Happy?, and What I Like. Catherine Anholt's unusual illustrations, created by pasting cut-out pencil, ink, and watercolor images on colored paper, along with the hand-printed look of the type and the subject matter of the story-—are all faintly reminiscent of another jungle story: Jean De Brunhoff's The Story of Babar. Young readers will enjoy perusing the busy illustrations of Jungletown and picking out the three gray stones that turn out to be something quite different. Parents of simian-savvy children should prepare themselves to explain why these obviously tailed monkeys are named "Chimp and Zee," when they aren't chimpanzees! (Monkeys have tails; chimps don't.) Topsy-turvy taxonomy aside, this bright, oversized picture book is a fun, kid-tested read-aloud. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

The creators of Sophie and the New Baby and Harry's Home offer a decidedly old-fashioned but surely toddler-pleasing tale with this oversize volume starring two mischievous monkey siblings. After their mother, Mumkey, discovers her little ones hiding in her banana basket, having devoured its contents, she takes them to town to shop for a new supply. Mumkey cautions them not to "monkey around" and the two respond with a chorus that echoes throughout the story: " `Ha, ha, ha!' says Chimp. `Hee, hee, hee!' says Zee." While their mother shops, the monkeys climb back into the banana basket, perched atop a large gray stone. The "stone" turns out to be an elephant, which transports the wee ones into "the deepest, darkest part of Jungletown." Predictably, fate intervenes: the elephant inadvertently drops the basket into the river and it "gently floats away," eventually reaching the siblings' riverside tree house. Rendered in pencil, ink and watercolor and then pasted onto colored paper of vivid hues, the buoyant illustrations complement the lilting if at times lurching narrative. Wee ones will cheerfully chime in as Chimp and Zee repeat their giggly refrain. Ages 2-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Phyllis Fogelman Books (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803726716
• ISBN-13: 978-0803726710
• Product Dimensions: 14.5 x 10.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,472,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chimps are not monkeys, May 10, 2005

By 

My Uncle Stu (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chimp and Zee (Hardcover)

I give it four stars because my daughter loves it and that's what really counts.

But I do wish Laurence Anholt would not continue the same primatalogical sloppiness initially started by Curious George. Chimps are apes, not monkeys. At least Curious George, despite being labelled as a monkey, was drawn correctly, sans tail. But Chimp and Zee are drawn with tails. How hard is it to go to the zoo and observe, or crack a basic Anthropology textbook. Here's the scoop: Chimps, gorillas, and orangs are the Great Apes. They are our closest relatives, and they do not have tails.

Thank you for letting me vent. One other point that troubles me, I'm not sure I understand why so many kids books and kids movies have to zero-in so frighteningly on abandonement fears. Chimp and Zee get separated from their parents Mumkey and Papakey (who, again, are not monkeys but apes) and we are treated to the scene of the parents embracing each other and grieving the loss of their two children. I don't know, maybe I'm a whimp, just seems a little harsh for such a cutesy story.

But the pictures are cute, and I love the maps of jungletown. The scenes in the marketplace of downtown jungletown are full of rich detail. It keeps my daughter and I busy for a while, going through and describing everything we see and making up our own stories. So thumbs up from my daughter, marginal thumbs up from her Dad.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The PERFECT picture book!, February 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Chimp and Zee (Hardcover)

As a teacher and mother of three, I am always on the look out for good picture books. I love almost everything that the Anholts have done, but Chimp and Zee is SENSATIONAL, (and no I'm not a relative or a publisher!). My class absolutely squeal with delight when I get out this huge brightly coloured story book... then as soon as I get home, my own kids, aged 3,5 and 8 are begging for Chimp and Zee too. I do hope there will be more adventures about these adorable twin monkeys. Without exaggeration, this is the best children's picture book I have ever seen.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most FANTASTIC children's book we have ever found!, January 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Chimp and Zee (Hardcover)

We bought Chimp and Zee whilst on vacation in England and our three kids went MAD for it! We have since bought at least ten copies for all the kids we know. It's a HUGE, brightly colored story about two wonderful twin monkeys...you just have to see it to get the idea.