Grumpy Monkey School Stinks!: A Graphic Novel

by Suzanne Lang, Max Lang (illustrator)

An original graphic novel based on the #1 New York Times bestselling Grumpy Monkey picture books, perfect for children who are ready for longer storylines and hilarious dialogue. This time, Jim Panzee is going back to school. And he is NOT pleased.

During a game of hide-and-seek, Jim Panzee causes a real stink. Literally. He walks right into Polecat’s log to hide and instead gets covered in Polecat’s smelly spray. His friends remind Jim that if he’d paid attention in class, he’d have learned to identify animals by their footprints. So it’s back to school for Jim!

Guess what! School can be fun—once you get into the swing of it! But when Jim finds himself failing, his best friend, Norman, helps him understand that learning doesn’t only happen when you get everything right—you can learn from your mistakes, too.

This silly back-to-school graphic novel will engage even the most reluctant readers and will keep kids laughing from the first page to the last.

Also A Primate Primer from Jim’s mom! A trail mix recipe from Jim’s dad!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens, Animals, Juvenile, School, Humor, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grumpy Monkey is a big hit lately and I can understand why. Jim is so relatable; he reminds me of my brother and his hatred of school. I feel like this book would be a great learning experience for some kids that just want to give up after failure. A good learning tool.

[Cindy Huskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grumpy Monkey School Stinks is exactly what you’d expect from a book with both “grumpy” and “school” in the title—lots of complaining, jungle hijinks, and the unmistakable scent of polecat spray.

Jim Panzee is back, and this time he’s being peer-pressured into re-enrolling in school by a bunch of forest creatures who apparently have nothing better to do than comment on his educational shortcomings. Look, he’s a full-grown chimp living on his own branch.

Still, Jim agrees to return to class, where he is forced to sit among literal baby animals and pretend he’s excited about “Jungle Plants 101.” Spoiler: He is not excited.

Despite Jim’s grumbling (and my deep spiritual connection to his “why are we learning this?” energy), the story is genuinely hilarious. The comic panels are lively, the dialogue is punchy, and the jungle school setting is exactly the kind of chaos kids will love. Plus, we get a heartwarming twist with Oxpecker and his upset tummy, proving that even grumpy monkeys have their heroic moments.

But let’s address the elephant in the room: the animal tracks matching activity at the end. WHERE ARE THE ANSWERS? Don’t tease me with a quiz and then ghost me, book. I have questions. Kids have questions. And now we’re all just staring at mystery footprints wondering if we failed jungle school too.

Still, despite the existential crisis brought on by ambiguous paw prints, this is a great transitional graphic novel for young readers who are ready to level up from picture books to something a bit more advanced… but not too advanced. We’re still firmly in “fart equals funny” territory here.
Final grade: A- in Humor, B+ in Heart, and an Incomplete in Animal Track Identification.

[Mindy Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kid review (girl, 6 & boy, 8): Graphic novel + fun illustrations + silly plot line = home run. Both kids read it independently and in one sitting-kept both their interests. One enjoyed the silky humor (barf) and the other likes the recipes. Both gave the story 4 ⭐️.

Mom/Elementary Teacher Review: Jim Panzee just doesn’t like school. He failed it and has important lessons he has missed. His friends convince him to give it another go.

While it appears Jim is daydreaming about bananas and not really listening to the lessons, he makes mistakes and fails again. Or does he? Did he learn from his mistakes?

Jim seems that he learns best once he makes the mistake. He learns hands on and it shows he can always keep learning!

Great message that’s a bit silly for the beginning of the year. I feel like 3rd graders would love this and has a good message about some people learn at different rates, others need to learn from mistakes, and school is important.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grumpy Monkey Jim Panzee didn't really pay attention when he was in school. (He was distracted by daydreaming about bananas.) His lack of animal footprint knowledge leads to a misunderstanding with a Polecat. A very smelly misunderstanding. Jim's friends encourage him to go back to school but he thinks school is stupid.
However when a young crocodile outsmarts him, Jim decides to give school a chance, even though he is older than the other students. For a while school is fun and Jim learns a few things but then he gets distracted again by banana thoughts. And rather unpleasantly fails a test. Fortunately Jim hasn't given up on learning - though it can be messy to have to learn from your mistakes!

Kids will enjoy this - especially all of the butt references and barfing. A fun reminder that while it is important to pay attention, distracted students do still learn important information. And encouraging friends are always important.

[Kaitlyn Bieszk · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are already familiar with Grumpy Monkey books, you will recognize characters from previous books(love this!). The illustrations stay consistent with the Grumpy Monkey series, and the pages typically feature no more than four panels, each with just a few sentences, making it easy for young readers to follow the story. I also appreciated how the book incorporates fun animal fact pages and creative transitions between scenes within the panels. This is a great series to transition young children from picture books into books with more words, but yet it keeps it fun and interesting! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Studio for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Novel
I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publishers through NetGalley.
Jim Panzee returns in a graphic novel for lower and mid elementary level readers. We see him make a huge mistake while playing hide and seek with his friends and end up smelling like a polecat. His friends tried to tell him to avoid that hiding spot as they recognized the tracks. After that opening, they encourage him to go back to school and pay attention this time. Readers will enjoy his usual grumpy attitude as he learns and argues and daydreams again. In a surprise near the end, he does end up saving a friend as he remembers what the teacher said even though he was dreaming about bananas. The artwork captures the humor and the fun in this longer format.

[Casey Densmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grumpy Monkey makes a mistake and has to go back to school. He learns that maybe he's not great at school, but he learned enough to help his friends. In the end, Grumpy Monkey learns a very valuable lesson! This was a cute story that I think kids would really enjoy. Graphic novels are a very popular read, so the format would motivate reluctant readers to pick this book up. Illustrations are colorful and funny! Overall, this would be a book I would recommend for children and it is one I will be adding to my classroom library.

Thank you Suzanne Lang and Random House Children's for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book via NetGalley! This review was written voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This grumpy monkey is a graphic novel. It’s an early chapter book and it was lots of fun. It’s perfect for students who are not quite ready for Dog Man, but definitely ready to get away from easy readers. I find the subject in the way it’s treated interesting. If you listen to teachers on social media, there’s lots of talk about how kids aren’t where they should be both in reading math and every other subject. How kids are behind. It’s so happens this book is about a grown-up Jim who has to go back to school because he didn’t learn the first time he was there. The topic is irrelevant and handled in an interesting way I think kids and adult adults alike will enjoy.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third volume of the popular graphic novel series for younger readers by Suzanne Lang based on her picture book character Jim Panzee -- the Grumpy Monkey. In this book, Jim Panzee finds the thought of going back to school objectionable but finally realizes there are some things he may need to learn. He discovers that school can be fun but also full of challenges. He discovers one can learn from their mistakes. The graphic novel also mixes in some informational facts about primates, the footprints of jungle animals, and a recipe for jungle trail mix. Max Lang is the illustrator of the engaging graphic support for the story. This is a great series to get a young reader started on.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the Grumpy Monkey storybook as a read-aloud to my class. This Grumpy Monkey: School Stinks graphic novel gives kids a chance to practice reading on their own with familiar characters and settings. Both the text and the illustrations are engaging and funny. Kids can use the pictures and their own developing reading skills to read the book without the intimidation of full paragraphs. Also, the words butt and but can’t be confused in this book! Lol!
Thank you Random House Studio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Grumpy Monkey graphic novel, and I feel that it is a perfect introduction for children who are moving up from picture books for the first time. They know Grumpy Monkey, and see characters they already know from his other books. The draws stay true to the Grumpy Monkey series, while the panels stay on average to 4 or less per page with only a couple sentences within each panel which makes it easy to read and follow the story. I also enjoyed how it was broken up with a couple different kinds of animal fact pages along with how the scenes change in the panels.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Panzee is very glad he's a fully-grown chimpanzee whose school days are behind him, but he didn't do very well in school. When he ends up stinky from an accidental encounter with a polecat, his friend Norman convinces him to go back to class to re-learn the jungle basics.

Suzanne Lang brings her unique style to the graphic novel format with aplomb in this delightfully funny story that shows us we're never too old to learn something new, and it may even come in handy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this graphic novel Jim Panzee's ignorance of animal tracks, something he should have learned in school, prompts his friends to encourage him to head back to the classroom. Although he's not the best student in the world, Jim tries hard, and soon, he actually likes SOME parts of school. However, making mistakes leaves him frustrated--until his best friend, Norman, reminds him that it's possible to learn from his mistakes. This is another good addition to the popular series, which continues to develop effectively the character of Jim and those around him.

[Amanda Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this one with my 6 and 8 year olds and my rating is theirs. I like grumpy monkey for a lot of reasons. Not the least is which is that he is, in fact, grumpy. I've had a couple of grumpy monkeys in my own off spring, and it's awesome to have them represented. This book is entertaining, funny, and educational. The perfect storm.

[Elizabeth E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of the Grumpy Monkey picture books will love this graphic novel for all the same reasons. Perfect for kiddos who are beyond beginning readers and ready for something a little more challenging. Large panels and limited text make this a great beginning graphic novel. Love the 'bonus' chapters with extra material, leaving 3 'regular' graphic novel chapters.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Stephanie Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute graphic novel and the dialogue is hilarious. This is perfect for kids transitioning from the picture books to something more challenging. The story was easy to follow and the illustrations were great. There are also some fun facts at the end about matching the animals to the tracks they make.
Thanks to Random House Studio and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Grumpy Money and this graphic novel, while very easy and simplistic, was awesome. So much fun and the art is top-notch. I loved the characters and the vibes. I am excited for my daughter to read this, because, the lessons are valid, the story is great, and she loves the character. A+ job here, Ms. Lang.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grumpy Monkey doesn't recognize animal tracks and gets into trouble, so his friends convince him to go back to school to learn so he'll be better prepared in the future. A wonderful lesson for children (and adults!) that making mistakes - and seeing others make mistakes - is a valuable way to learn!

[Sarah Alamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're so proud of you for reading this book! Jim Panzee learned that even when something seems scary or not fun at first, trying it can surprise you. Sometimes new things feel hard, but they might become your favorite! Just like Jim, when you feel grumpy about school or something new, remember to give it a chance. You might discover it's actually wonderful! Great job reading, sweetheart!

[Bozhena Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Random House Children's and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this adorable book. I absolutely loved Grumpy Monkey in the graphic novel format! It was so much fun to meet Jim Panzee and his friends! Can’t wait to share this fun story with my students!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny and cute early graphic novel! I think any fans of the original Grumpy Monkey books would enjoy this as a step up to read a shorter graphic novel by themselves, and it could be a decent hi-lo title for struggling upper elementary readers. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

[Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and pretty funny book!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, the kids are going to love this one.

And they could use the message of learning from one's mistakes.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back to school for Jim. These GN are hilarious!!

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious but not overly obnoxious like some funny children’s graphics.

Clear lesson shown in clever but a happening way.