Little Monkey Calms Down

by Michael Dahl, Oriol Vidal (Illustrator)

Little Monkey is having a bad day. After a major melt down, he goes to his room and uses some coping techniques to calm down.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Emotion, Fiction, Juvenile, Storytime

22 pages, Board Book

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Michael Dahl is the author of over 200 books for children and young adults, including the acclaimed Finnegan Zwake mystery series and The Library of Doom. His works have earned Edgar and Anthony Award nominations and national design honors. As Editorial Director at Stone Arch Books, he champions engaging, award-winning stories that inspire young readers everywhere.

He also writes under aliases Chris Carey, Rick Thomas, and Mark Ziegler.

Reviews

[Somia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super short book, very few words but a good way of getting really, really young children to learn some mindful techniques.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a self-help book, yes. For all ages, yes. But it's more than that - it's *funny.* You have got to see the spread illustrating a temper tantrum.

Great companion to Scaredy Squirrel.
Now we just need one that gives us tools to cope with a blue funk. Do you have any suggestions?

[Elita ₊✩ˎˊ˗]

idc that this is a picture book for toddlers, it’s counting towards my reading goal bc I’ve read it so many times. Argue with the wall.

I usually don’t review children’s books, but my students love this book so much that it deserves a rec from me.

I work at a daycare teaching 1.5-2 year olds and of all the books I read to them, this is the fan favorite amongst everyone BY FAR. They think it’s hilarious lmao they all laugh hysterically at the page with the windmill and just the fact that it’s about a monkey makes them giggly. They ask me to read & reread it all day long because they’re so entertained by it.

It’s also educational!! It teaches kids how to calm themselves down after they get sad or mad. They’ve learned how to take deep breaths from this book and that has been such a huuuuge success in my classroom when the kids get upset, so thanks so much to this author for that!

It’s colorful and the graphics are fun as well!

10/10 would recommend if you want your little ones to be entertained and slightly more emotionally intelligent

[Rebecca Crunden]

Super cute!

[Lauren Drake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has little words however I think it would be great to read to a child when they are upset and need to calm down. The child will hopefully begin to enjoy the story as it goes on and hopefully follow the same pattern of emotions that the monkey does - with being calm by the end.

[IvyInThePages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children/ Board book
Type: Book
Worth?: Yes

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

So cute!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief look at dealing with anger. Full of handy phrases for anyone caught in the crossfire of a tantrum.

[Abigail Lydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title (italicize): Little Monkey Calms Down
Author: Michael Dahi
Illustrator (if separate from the author): Oriol Vida
Genre: fiction
Theme(s): Dealing with negative emotions and ways to cope with those emotions for young children
Opening line/sentence (type directly from text): “Poor little monkey”.
Brief Book Summary (2-3 sentences in your own words): The little monkey drops his ice cream and is very upset about it. Monkey deals with his anger/sadness by taking deep breaths, singing, being still, and cuddling with a blankie. The book shows lots of ways to calm down for a child when they are feeling upset.
Response to Two Professional Reviews (3-4 sentences in your own words): Capstone mentions that book is an effective way of teaching coping skills to young learners. Walking Brain Cells comments on how the book provides a proper model for children to listen to and understand. Both reviews agree that the book has a strong message that very young children can understand and take away from after reading.
Tell Me Framework (4 sentences in your own words):
Like(s): The repetition of the phrase “calm down little monkey”, and when the other monkeys hug the little monkey in the end.
Dislike(s): If I could change anything, I would add another character that has dialogue so that the monkey is not alone.
Patterns(s): “Calm down little monkey” is repeated on almost every page.
Puzzle(s): What is the little monkey's favorite way to calm down?
Consideration of Instructional Application (3-4 sentences in your own words): This book can be used to introduce a lesson on emotions. I think using a prop monkey toy or puppet of some sort to connect with the book and with the children would keep them engaged. This way they can all connect with this character and feel comfortable talking about their own feelings. Drawing would be a good outlet to allow the students to express their emotions through art.

[Emily Flanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Monkey Calms down by Michael Dahl is a short story that talks about the various ways that Little Monkey deals with an upsetting situation. I think that this book would be a great way to teach very young children (2 to 4 years old) positive ways in which they can manage their very big emotions. Self-regulation is a very important skill to have in the classroom and in life in general, so I think that this story is a great way to introduce these strategies to children who have not yet entered a formal school environment.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book that is really relatable for the young reader. It's almost a self-help book, and although predominantly for the young reader it is a great lesson for all ages. It would be great for children as when they have their terrible tantrums they could think back to this book and try some of the techniques monkey uses. Reading the book, you really feel that you are there with monkey, feeling all the same things as monkey, but you really feel happy towards the end. A great first book.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! I’m probably going to end up buying it. Rosemary enjoyed the colorful illustrations and the monkeys, while I enjoyed the words. It teaches kids that being upset is okay and here are some strategies to calm down. “It’s okay to cry” Taking a breath, and focus on something are just a few of the strategies.

This book is great for parents of toddlers or any early childhood classroom! Put it in your take a break area.

[Ryan Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice and I have read this book every night for probably six months.

It’s a remarkable book, because it (1) helps children understand a challenging part of life, namely frustration and anger; (2) creates a vocabulary that parents and children can use to discuss that part of life; and (3) introduces tools that parents and children can use together to cope.

I can’t even count the number of times Alice has been frustrated and we have been able to recognize the frustration together - 小猴子哭了, and then talk through singing a quiet song, taking a deep breath, or being still and relaxing (one of alices first sentences!).

I also use these tools with Alice when I am upset, which I think helps her recognize that the emotions she is feeling are common to other people as well.

I just love this book and am so grateful the authors have provided such an accessible and wise contribution to our family.

[mama chop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for toddlers!

I work with two year olds. This was a great story that had simple text, colorful pictures and emotions every toddler can relate to. It gave good ideas, in a very simple way, of different techniques to calm your emotions when you feel out of control. I highly recommend it for parents or teachers of toddlers.

[Katie Dickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww monkey

My child real this as an independent read and loved the ways money calmed down. She realized she could use the same techniques to calm herself down in overwhelming moments too!

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

think it would be great for themes involving monkeys, calming down, having fun, emotions, think it would work best for toddlers, could use for babies maybe? maybe preschool, if you ask questions, like have you ever felt like that? cute pictures too.

[Naresh Mani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes it is a nice book to read to my four-year-old daughter thank you

This is a great story to read them out for you and all the other day just you thank you to read a story for me thank you bye! I love monkey story

[Jake Mounsher]

Minimal is an understatement

There's nothing to see here! This "book" is about three pages long, literally just repeats the title. It is not a story, nor does it teach anyone anything. This is the literary equivalent of buying a cake and being served a grain of flour.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simple but nice well-being story for FS or year 1 children. The monkey used lots of different techniques to help him calm himself down. Would be good to read to children and practise these approaches so they have strategies when they are feeling upset or angry.

[Alicia Creed · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok I suppose

Read this to my baby, I suppose it’s more aimed at children who can read themselves due to the very simple language but as a primary school teacher I didn’t think it was anything special

[Orki De · Rating 5 out of 5]

این کتاب توسط نشر کتاب پارک ترجمه و منتشر شده است.

خیلی ساده و متناسب با کودکان نوپا، نحوه مواجهه با ناراحتی را به آنها آموزش می دهد.
عاشقش هستم. چون پسرم دو ساله ام میمون کوچولوی ناراحت و غرغرو رو ناز میکند، با او آهنگ میخواند، نفس عمق میکشد و بتویش را بغل می کند :)))

[Bre Zimmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute idea. But I dislike the constant message of telling little monkey to calm down. It's mixed messaging telling a kid that it's OK to feel their feelings while at the same time telling them to calm down.

[Kimberly Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book for use in a classroom because it teaches kids skills for calming themselves down without being over their heads or being condescending. It includes practical examples and helps them visualize what's being talked about.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son picked this one out because of the cute monkey. He was excited to read about all the calming techniques we’ve taught him so far and was able to do the exercises while we read. A great book for teaching that it’s okay to be upset and how to handle the big feelings well.

[Marina Mamshina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting to learn how to breath and relax. Colorful and beautiful pictures, great idea and important message for parents and toddlers :)

[Mr. Peace · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son liked curiously running his pointer finger along the monkeys tail.

[Ramon Saenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

How little monkey calms down

This book is about a ice cream and how little monkey calms down. Little monkey does calm down. Its a good book.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the concepts. Loved the format. Loved that my child would listen. A great book for very young children learning better ways to react than anger.

[carol-ann porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good kids book

My 5 year old daughter loved the book, as she could relate to the monkey. And it helped her to calm down.

[Miss L M King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cure book for toddlers

Recommend to parents with toddlers and babies
Cute book and pictures
Good for teaching young children how to stay calm