Note: I received an F&G of this book at an ALA conference. ( )

Age Appropriateness (Primary, Intermediate, Middle School): Primary (K-2)
Review/Critique: This book is about a young monkey who is going to be a big brother. This book explores the many responsibilities of being an older sibling and all the change that come with having a baby in the family.
Comments on Use: I originally picked up this book because of the illustrations. The monkeys look sort of like humans. When I opened the book I realized that the font of the book was written like handwriting and most of the book is written in dialogue. The text is handwritten by Marc Brown.
Media: colored pencils and gouache ( )

Monkey returns in this second picture-book devoted to his adventures, following upon Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten. Dismayed at the idea that a new baby is on the way, Monkey insists that he likes being a younger brother, and isn't ready to be an older brother. But after visiting the doctor with his mother and hearing the baby's heartbeat, and helping his dad build the baby's crib, Monkey begins to reconsider...

Like its predecessor, Monkey: Not Ready for the Baby addresses a common childhood experience, one that many youngsters might find initially quite intimidating. In that first book it was the first day of school, here it is the arrival of a new sibling. Just as in the first story, Monkey's family is there to reassure him, drawing his attention away from his fears and toward the positive aspects of this new experience. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first story about Monkey and his family, and to anyone looking for stories about becoming an older sibling. ( )

This book was about Monkey's mom having a baby. He was not very happy about it at first. Once they started to put everything together for the baby he got more excited and finally was accepting of the baby. At the end he held the baby and watched her open her eyes. This was a cute book about being a big brother. I liked this book. ( )

I enjoyed this book, Monkey Not Ready for the Baby, very much. I really liked it because it talks about a relevant situation many children face at a young age. The illustrations in the book made it very eye grabbing and also the font of the wording was imitating a young child's handwriting in crayon. I feel like that being apart of the book connects with children and may seem less formal which will make kids more interested. I also like the idea of the characters in the book being monkeys. It gave it a different feel instead of it being humans but it was still believable and real because monkeys are mammals and do have baby monkeys, rather than if it was some sort of animal that don't actually give birth to their babies, or some sort of object. The big idea of the book would be that even though having a new baby sibling can be scary and threatening to young children it is actually a very exciting and lovable experience and to just give it a chance. ( )