Bunny vs Monkey: Let the Mayhem Begin!

Bunny vs Monkey #1

by Jamie Smart

A team of scientists has sent a monkey into space! And good thing, too, because he's a mean, selfish, noisy, bullying little fur-bag. But... all does not go well with the flight, and Monkey's spaceship barely clears the first hilltop before crash-landing in a peaceful forest. Monkey decides this is a new world and claims it for his own. And his first decree is that all other animals should be banished! What follows is a series of hilarious, off-the-wall interactions between Monkey and the other forest animals.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens, Humor, Comics, Animals, Fiction, Middle Grade

65 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2014

About the author

Jamie Smart is a British comic artist and author best known for his 10-issue comic series Bear and his popular children's comic series Bunny vs Monkey running in the Phoenix magazine.

Reviews

[D.T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy the artwork a lot! I think it’s so cute and expressive, and the art style drew me to the book. The innocent stupidity of Weenie and Pig is nice.

Even though this is titled Bunny vs Monkey, sometimes Bunny isn’t always actively fighting against Monkey. He’s mostly the straight man calling out Monkey’s arrogance/ignorance and trying to convince the other woodland creatures that Monkey’s no good.

I think younger kids would have a blast with this, but the jokes and story weren’t anything beyond cute for me. This format would work better as a cartoon. Despite that, the library has the second volume waiting for me, so I will read it soon.

[HEichEL · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was completely on board with this hilarious & cute graphic novel right up until Monkey said to Bunny, "You scream like a girl." (Page 32 bottom right) & then Bunny skrieks on page 33 & Monkey responds, "Ha! Like a girl." On the same page near the bottom Monkey is described as giving a, "girly screeeam!"
At other points the word "sissy" is used & at another point character's genders are revealed as female. I refuse to reread the whole thing to get page numbers & specifics on those last points.
All the above was offensive as well as totally & completely unnecessary for such an otherwise creative & entertaining work.

[Sharah McConville · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I loved Bunny vs Monkey. This is the first two books in the series and we're looking forward to the rest of this crazy series.

[benita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bunny vs Monkey is a children’s book filled with lots of fun! A monkey, who was supposed to travel into space, lands just over the hill. They think they have traveled to a different planet, but in reality it’s the home to forrest animals on Earth where they are from too!
Lots of fun small comics each filled with giggling bunny vs monkey antics! This will definitely be a hit for young readers, and I plan to gift it to my little brother who is 8 years-old. Hopefully he’ll enjoy this as much as I did!

Happy reading!♥️

[Lisa Bentley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh I haven’t chuckled this much in ages. Bunny Vs Monkey is a graphic novel about the acrimonious relationship between a bunny and a monkey. Monkey believes he has been sent to another planet to colonise the land. Little does he know is that the scientists who sent him away didn’t quite reach outer space and his is in fact still on earth in the woods. 

The relationship between Bunny and Monkey is brilliant. It is like Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote yet they both have more elements of Wiley Coyote than anyone. Along with a colourful cast of characters such as Pig, Weenie the Squirrel and Skunk and my personal favourite – Le Fox – this graphic novel is chock full of silliness and I, for one, salute the silliness.

A brilliant distraction from life, Bunny vs Monkey is a must read for anyone who loves a good laugh.

Bunny Vs Monkey Book One by Jamie Smart is available now,

[Mairéad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this up because a group of 7year olds insisted it is waaaay better than Dogman but I've been left very disappointed. The humour is beyond daft, the characters are irritatingly stupid and the plot is pretty non existent... I had to dnf at 35% because it was annoying me so much! I understand I'm not the target audience for these books but I truely can't understand the popularity of this series of comic strip style graphic novels among younger readers. No doubt the pupils who suggested it will try to convince me otherwise but I can safely say I won't be reading any more of this series!

[Filipa Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read.

This book is a collection of short stories (it reminded me a lot of those cartoons you see in a back of a newspaper) with a very thin storyline between them - I found this very clever because it tests children's attention to details.

The art is amazing. I love the drawings, the colours, and all the little details of the various scenarios our characters are in.

I really do think children will fall in love with this book and I can't wait to read the second volume.

[Erik Fazekas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the best comic book I have read and will ever read!!!

[Linnea]

Käsittämättömän nopeatempoinen sekoilusarjakuva, jossa kinastellaan metsän herruudesta. Hieman liikaa kaikkea omaan makuuni, vaikka piirrostyyli olikin aivan kiva.

Myönnän, että yhdelle käännösvitsille olen kylläkin naureskellut jo viikon.

[Aluś · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mega 👾👾🤯🤯

[Jarod Roselló · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. A sort-of-evil monkey lands in the forest thinking he’s on another planet with one mission: take over the world. Lucky for us, there’s a bunny and some other forest creatures out to stop him.

This is a world full of hilariously-incompetent and extremely lovable characters (total Saturday-morning-cartoon vibes). A true all-ages book, too. The writing is smart, fun, and engaging. The art style is just silly enough and just cute enough. It’s been a while since I’ve read a children’s book that felt fun and delightful, so if you’re lamenting why kids don’t read for fun anymore, then make sure you share this one with them!

Structurally, it’s a collection of really short stories (about 4-5 pages, on average), so despite being a 250-page book, it’s easy to pop in and finish an entire story in a few minutes. There is a chronological story that builds gently over the book and leads into the second volume.

My highest of recommendations. One of the best books I’ve read in a while.

[James Durkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bunny Vs. Monkey / Jamie Smart

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

~ Y'KNOW, SKUNKY, IT'S STRANGE. EVERY DAY I COME DOWN HERE AND SAY 'QUICK, SKUNKY, I NEED AN INVENTION FOR A SPECIFIC TASK!" AND EVERY TIME, YOU JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON JUST THE RIGHT THING… ~

So another one. Just like the popularity of Dog Man, Bunny Vs Monkey has exploded over the past few years. And I wanted to see what the hype was all about.

I can totally see the attraction. This would be for Dog Man readers and up. The reading level and the stories show all this. As much as book 1 in a set is world building, this sprinkled some upcoming stories while not apologising for the chaos. All the woodland critters have their times to shine.

Brilliant illustrations, and a good story.

Who are the humans? What is behind Door B? Will Monkey ever behave???

If book 2 comes my way I’ll give it a shot to see what happens.

📚 Borrowed from #FerrybankLibrary as part of @kilkennylibrary and @librariesireland 📚

* Read: 23/04/25
* Release Date: 02/07/20
* ISBN: 9781788451772

[Aled Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anarchic and at times hilariously surreal, these books are well-written and vibrantly illustrated. I credit these books, and the excellent Phoenix comic that led us to them, with a big increase in my kids' reading interest and ability. The humour is often very juvenile. Having watched the author on a live stream I'm sure this is intentional for what are ultimately children's comic books. They are cartoons first, with the silliness and variable sense of reality that entails. But I've been impressed by the consistent characterisation and the underlying, whole-book, story arcs underneath the surface appearance of 'just' a silly cartoon about animals hitting one another with jelly and fart bombs. That aspect may be what you come for, but you stay for the story.

[Dawn Parsonage · Rating 5 out of 5]

By all the gods, to say that I was a little excited that Bunny Vs Monkey is now available in book form, is so much of an understatement,that 'excitement' needs to take a look hard look at itself and think about what it's done.

This collection will be enjoyed by every single child in the world... as well as every adult. So basically if you're reading this thinking, 'Oh I'm not sure... oh I've not seen the characters before... ra ra ra' JUST BUY IT, READ IT and watch how your life changes FOREVER.

[JasonR · Rating 5 out of 5]

My eight year old son loves these books. All three books are frenetic and funny, with great art and truly memorable characters. We were able to find the first two in the series on Amazon, but oddly the third was only available from the Book Depository in London. Good thing they have free shipping!

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I'm a school Librarian and my Book Group choose this. The other pupils seemed to enjoy it, too. Therefore I'm giving it three stars, even though I'm not a fan of the humour.

If you don't like slapstick toilet humour, you should probably steer clear.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my boys and they both loved it. It wasn’t the easiest to read-aloud with all of the sound effects and tee-hees in every frame, but it was still a lot of fun. Highly recommended for Dav Pilkey fans.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is exceptional, and it has the kind of humour I like. :)

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the best but ok :)

[Ebs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for dog man fans although as amazing as it is there is a down side to the book it’s difficult to read the handwriting but I would recommend this book to 6 to 10 year olds

[Stephanie Kamunda · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I am obsessed whith this series I have about 6 books and I love then and can't stop reading them again and again I absolutely love this book

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun premise, like that it is told vignette style, and it felt so nice to read a graphic novel where the text was nice and legible.

[Leona Byrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love bunny vs monkey it’s a amazing book

[Ari Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, Funny and Quick Book! This was so much fun to read at the pool. Fun to read right when I got off the plane!

Thank you Jamie Smart for creating this cute book!

[Uschi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wissenschaftler wollten eine Rakete mit einem Affen darin eigentlich in den Weltraum senden, aber irgendwas ist schiefgelaufen und so landet der Affe nur im Wald hinter dem Labor. Er aber meint, auf einem fremden Planeten zu sein und beginnt die Waldbewohner Hase und dessen Freunde zu schikanieren - er möchte sie gerne zu seinen Sklaven machen. Nur dumm gelaufen, dass die das nicht mit sich machen lassen und sich kräftig wehren.

Und schon beginnt der Wahnsinn im Wald! Der Affe hat in Stinki, dem Stinktier und Action-Biber Verbündete gefunden und mithilfe von Stinkis Super-Erfindungen herrscht bald das absolute Chaos! Dabei würden Hase und seine Freunde aus dem Wald doch nur so gerne ihre Ruhe haben - doch daraus wird nichts.

Dieses Comic-Buch besteht aus vielen kurzen Geschichten, die im Jahreslauf lustig erzählt werden. Die Figuren sind gut gezeichnet, der Text ist meist gut verständlich. Aber es ist nicht sicher, dass schon jeder 8-jährige die Ironie bei manchen Szenen versteht. Leider wiederholen sich die Inhalte gefühlt immer wieder, nach 10 Geschichten hat man eigentlich schon genug von der stets gleichen Thematik. Aber Kinder mögen das vielleicht anders sehen ...

[Roben · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bunny and his friends live in the woods. Weenie (a squirrel) and Pig (a pig) are Bunny's two friends. Winter is coming and Bunny is trying to get everyone ready. Weenie and Pig are easily distracted. Though Weenie does like to bake! Unbeknownst to them, a group of scientists on the other side of the hill are planning to launch a monkey into space. Unfortunately, the mission does not go well and Monkey simply lands in Bunny's forest. Initially he thinks he is on another planet but it doesn't take long for Bunny to convince him that he is still on Earth. Monkey still decides he is going to be a pain the bum and make life interesting and semi-miserable for Bunny and friends. He finds a helper - Skunk - who has a secret lair filled with inventions that inevitably go wrong when Monkey tries to use them. And so it goes in two page vignettes from December through June.
I liked the way this started - with the bear. And I am sure kids that enjoy DogMan and Catwad will like this also. It's probably more like Catwad. But as an adult reader I grew tired of the negative and sometimes insensitive jokes (like being dropped on your head too many times). It was OK.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphic Novel
Mid to upper elementary readers will love the ridiculousness of this series. The story begins with a monkey launched into "space" who actually lands in the woods near the laboratory. He is determined to rule the woods and spends the rest of the book engaged with the forest creatures. Two sides quickly form and their interactions are humorous and stretch the bounds of ridiculousness. The tone is friendly as Bunny only wants everyone to enjoy being together and living their dream lives. The end hints at what is to come in the next book.

[Kristin Goodell · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book opens on page 7 with Monkey getting blasted into the woods thinking it is a new land. When he encounters Bunny he says, “Gasp…it speaks English! How wonderful. This will make ruling you far easier! You will be my chief slave. Now round up all the locals and throw them in a hole. Oh, first dog a hole!”

I couldn’t in good conscious possibly let my students read this book. How is talk about enslaving possibly funny?! I can’t believe this was published in 2016! 😳

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

this series had me and kids cracking up ('i mowed by own bum', is now shouted constantly in our house...so the good with the bad :P). a few stories fell a bit flat, but overall very fun and very cute.

[Claire Perko · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I can see it being entertaining, the slight of making the bunny scream like a girl was really offensive, and there are a lot of different, more creative and funny insults that could have been used.