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ISBN 1405418648 - Novelty books almost always impress me as books that kids will find engaging, and the idea of gold stars certainly sounds like a good one. Who doesn't like gold stars? For the record, on the back cover, it says "The jungle animals are taking naps under the big, shady trees, but Monkey is too hungry to sleep! He soon realizes that waking up the others isn't such a good idea!" In actuality, no one seems to be sleeping and Monkey doesn't wake anyone up. Just in case you're the type to rely on back covers.

In very simple words, the reader is asked who they can see in the jungle. A lion, an elephant and a crocodile are introduced. Last is a monkey, sitting in a tree, eating bananas and accidentally tossing the peels onto the animals below - so off he runs as the others give chase.

Before the text of the book, there are "Notes for Parents", providing a little guidance for how to use this book and the Gold Stars series to teach your child to read. The advice is easy and sounds like good common sense. In the back of the book are gold stars, awarded to the budding reader when they accomplish certain things: reading the book or finding words in the book. The text by Sue Graves is great for young readers. Easy words used repeatedly and written in a large font, all things designed to make reading easier. The illustrations by Alison Atkins are very cute and, even when the larger animals chase the monkey, the animals appear to be smiling and not especially frightening. All in all, it sounds like a superb book, but it isn't, really. The trouble, surprisingly, comes in the gold stars. The stars are stickers and, once placed, can't be reused. This makes the book, in general, a single-user book - it can't be handed down to another young reader who could make the same use of it because, honestly, the new child is going to want their own stars.

Not a bad book, but it's got such a short life-expectancy that I suggest spending your money somewhere else if you're just looking for a BOOK. On the other hand, and worth noting, if you're looking for homeschooling materials, this might fit that need well; no one really expects to re-use school "workbooks".

- AnnaLovesBooks ( )