Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree (Paperback)

by Eileen Christelow (Author) "Five little monkeys and their mama walk down to the river for a picnic supper..." (more)
Key Phrases: little monkeys

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-K-- The irrepressible crew from Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (Clarion, 1989) returns in this version of a traditional hand rhyme. The familiar chant tells of five foolish monkeys who are eaten when they tease a hungry crocodile. Christelow chooses a more lighthearted approach, illustrating it in sunny-colored pastels outlined in ink. She places the rhyme in a picnic setting; while the mother dozes, the little monkeys scamper out on a limb and fearlessly call to a crocodile, "You can't catch me!" But the crocodile's jaws snap, and one by one the monkeys disappear. Bright patches of clothing and pairs of little eyes among the leaves will signal perceptive listeners that all is well. Children will enjoy being in on the secret that even the mother monkey, awakened by all the noise, doesn't know. In the upbeat ending, all the children pop out of their hiding places, safe and sound. Some readers may question why the mother snoozes, leaving her brood to look after themselves, or why she doesn't come to their aid when she thinks they are in danger. The intended audience, however, will overlook these lapses of logic as they delight in the mischief-making--a humorous exaggeration of their own antics. --Carey Ayres, Port Washington Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Board book edition.

Review
"Brightly colored, cartoon-style artwork, done in mixed media, spreads across wide pages, capturing the exuberant antics of the mischievous critters. A nice bit of fun." -- Review

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (March 22, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395664136
• ISBN-13: 978-0395664131
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh Snap, April 3, 2006

By	My Uncle Stu (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

What is with this trend of good kid's books being followed up by seemingly rapidly produced, poorly thought out sequels? As bad as sequel's are in American cinema, I think sequels in children's books are even worse.

We loved Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed. Cute pictures, the fun bouncy lines of the old kid's song, plus an opportunity to practice counting. And there is a lesson there. Kids: Don't jump on the bed. The book legitimizes the temptation, especially at the end when we see the mother taking her turn to jump on the bed. But the monkeys fall off one by one, Momma calls the doctors, and we see the monkeys lines up with there ice bags on their heads in their post-concussive stupors.

But we recently got "Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree." The helpful everyday lesson for kids in this book is don't taunt a crocodile. Okay, perhaps one could generalize this and interpret it as a useful aphorism for navigating hierarchies, but doesn't quite live up to the standard of the nice, concrete "no more monkeys jumping on the bed." But beyond the pointlessness of this book, it's terrifying. Although, in the end it is revealed that the monkeys do not get eaten by the crocodile (and on subsequent readings one spots them hiding in the tree, which is slightly clever), we spend 16 of the 28 pages thinking that some or all of the mischievous monkeys have been eaten by Mr. Crocodile. We see nice colorful illustrations of distressed relatives including the frantic mother sobbing inconsolably.

I know, I've been told I take these books too seriously. Maybe your children won't be as traumatized as I was, I don't know. Maybe it's a good way to teach math. And, I suppose, also an opportunity to teach about the cruel, pitiless realities of the animal kingdom. And to teach that the inherent nature of life is suffering. Ultimately these are important lessons for the toddlers. Just a bit heartless and harrowing for my taste.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree (Board book)

The engaging pictures, suprise ending and repeated phrases in this book are the perfect way to get young children excited about subtraction! As a family of five monkeys goes on a picnic, they begin teasing an alligator. One by one, the monkeys disappear as the crocodile snaps its teeth. Children can count the monkeys that are left, after each time the alligator snaps and join in on the "Can't catch me" line that is repeated. It seems to be a predictable book, slowly loosing one monkey each time the alligator comes. However, the ending is suprising, and some children are able to find clues in the pictures that lead to finding out the suprise ending. This book is a great way for parents or teachers to introduce subtraction in a meaningful way! I highly recommend it. :)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The five little monkeys are at it again!, January 23, 2003

By	"okie_momma_9802" (Meeker, OK United States) - See all my reviews

My daughter (4) has almost worn out her copies of Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and Don't Wake Up Mama, so I bought her this and Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do. They are already bedtime favorites--they are bright and colorful, the rhymes are lots of fun and the stories are appealing to kids. She loves to sit and 'read' them to herself after we have read them to her and tucked her in for the night. She falls asleep with these books in her bed quite regularly. We love the Five Little Monkeys!