Monkey Play (Step into Reading Book Series: A Step 1 Book)

by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Ariel Pang (Illustrator)

Overview

Monkey Plays is an energetic companion to Bear Hugs and Panda Kisses. 

One by one, monkeys add to the jungle fun—swinging from palm trees, hiding in an Indian market, and playing from sundown to sun-up!

This playful Step 1 features a rhyming text with a bouncy rhythm and bright illustrations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375986260
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/07/2012
Series:	Step into Reading Book Series: A Step 1 Book
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	320L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

ALYSSA SATIN CAPUCILLI is one of the most recognizable names in the easy-to-read field. Her super-successful Biscuit books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in multiple formats. Alyssa is also the author of Bear Hugs and Panda Kisses, Step 1 Step into Reading books.

Editorial Reviews

No matter how playful they are, the frolicking monkeys in Capucilli and Pang's collaboration fail to make this beginning reader a success. Although the text employs good controls around vocabulary, its central problem is that it lacks sufficient rhythmic discipline. This is immediately apparent with the opening lines, which read, "Way up high, / in a big palm tree, / sits one little monkey"; subsequent lines do not ameliorate the flawed cadence. Cartoonish, digitally rendered illustrations depict monkeys cavorting among South Asian musicians, merchants, spice jars and then a bevy of animals from the "royal zoo." Although it's refreshing to see references to the South Asian setting in text and illustrations, ultimately there is little story apparent to engage readers in the monkeys' play. This is a fatal flaw. Emergent readers may be able to decode the text, but it gives them too little motivation to want to read or reread it. The monkeys may be playful, but this title isn't as much fun for new readers as it should be. (Early reader. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews