I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of Emily Gravett’s lovely picture books, so when we went out to The Book Hive, our wonderful local indie bookshop, to spend the boys’ World Book Day book tokens, I may have just subtly steered fils cadet in the direction of Monkey and Me… Anyway, he took the hint nicely and that is what we got.
Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2008)
We read it last night and he was giggling before we even got to the start of the story, thanks to the charming pencil illustrations of the main character battling to put on her tights – not an easy task when you’re 3. Once fully dressed, the girl and her monkey head off for a day out at the zoo.
Monkey and me, we went to see…
PENGUINS
They imitate the animal in question every time so you can guess what it’s going to be before you turn the page. And as with Blue Chameleon, it’s incredible how expressively the illustrations capture somebody pretending to be something else. It’s also a lovely depiction of a child’s relationship with her favourite cuddly toy.
Anyway, there are indeed penguins, which helped to sell the book to fils cadet – penguins are cool, as everybody knows. And lots of other animals too.
Loads of fun and another sure fire hit.
a discount ticket to everywhere 
We read this book in Arabic and absolutely love it. On the monkeys page, they’ve done a fabulous job of making the Arabic letters bounce and sprawl across the page like the limbs and tail of a monkey.
Sounds like a lot of fun!