Mad About Monkeys

by Owen Davey

With over 250 species inhabiting our planet, this book explores the many different types of monkeys from the smallest Pygmy Marmoset to the largest Mandrill, and provides all the facts you wanted to know and more. Discover where monkeys come from, how they swing from tree to tree, and why they fight and play with each other. After reading this beautifully illustrated book, you'll soon be raving mad about monkeys!

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Animals, Nature, Science, Childrens, Comics

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2015

About the author

Owen Davey describes his style as contemporary and nostalgic and likes to use a palette of warm, muted colors. His work has been featured in the New York Times and Jamie Oliver's food magazine. Owen has had many knightly adventures of his own where he lives in Bristol, England.

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the past few years the trend in children’s non-fiction has been to produce exquisitely packaged books, with high-end illustrations, quirky text with interactivity, and sometimes a niche subject. Mad about Monkeys hits the trend spot on. It feels and looks beautiful – even the endpapers are beautifully designed with high class illustrations of different species of monkey. The book progresses, almost story-like, through a quick and yet slyly comprehensive look at monkeys – addressing how you tell the difference between New World and Old World monkeys, their social habits, intelligence, identifying marks, particular species and much more. To read the rest of my review check out http://www.minervareads.com/?p=1203

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interested in learning more about monkeys? Want to know how to differentiate between Old and New World monkeys? Want to know why monkeys are considered mischievous? Curious about which monkey has the best facial hair, which monkey has the loudest call or which monkey has the longest tail? Then this is the book for you. Filled with facts about a variety of monkeys and facts about monkeys in general, this is an interesting look at these wonderful creatures!

[Christyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Stars

Mad About Monkeys is a fun, beautifully illustrated introduction to monkeys. I admit I picked up the book because I really like Davey’s illustration style. The information is easy to understand and you are likely to learn something new (even as an adult). Though it is geared towards children, this can certainly appeal to all ages.

[Ashley (JaffaCaffa) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully made, high quality book about monkeys.

Absolutely gorgeous illustrations and filled with lots of interesting facts. I've honestly never been the biggest fan of monkeys, but I definitely had a bigger appreciation for them after reading this. It piqued my curiosity and I ended up looking more in depth on different types of monkeys.

While it's geared towards younger readers, I think children and adults alike would enjoy this.

[Helen Costulis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mad About Monkeys is an informational nonfiction book that explores over 250 different species of Monkeys. The book includes the names of the monkeys and pictures of each of the different species so the reader can visualize the differences. One of the pages even explores how monkeys are similar to humans, discussing evolution. This book includes facts about how monkeys play with each other and how monkeys communicate. Definitely answered all of my questions and more about monkeys.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my type of nonfiction book. I absolutely loved the art work! It’s better than photographs that will be outdated sooner rather than later. The facts were interesting and kids will love this book.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het lijkt nu alsof ik boeken aan het lezen ben, puur om hun omvang, maar dat is het totaal niet :)
Dit boek gaat namelijk over apen en het is zo'n mooi boek! Ik hou van apen en dit boek heeft mijn liefde gewoon versterkt. Love it! <3

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't going to rate this book because I'm obviously not the target audience, but the illustrations are so pretty, I can't resist.
Minus one star because I find it a bit short actually, even for a kid's book, and the french translation could be improved.

[Tracy Middlebrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. Illustration style is very appealing. Entertaining and informative. Layout is lovely and sinuous, encouraging playful engagement with the material. Fun facts. Good distillation of some larger biology topics. Great varied representation of different species.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information and fun illustrations make this a great intro book for the budding primatologist. Just enough information for beginners in a lovely and socially responsible package.

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice! Lots of great info about monkeys, and wonderful, originally illustrations. Also, a nice little section at the end about conservation. Looking forward to more in this series!

[Heydi Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief look at very interesting facts about Monkeys. The illustrations are phenomenal.

[Francis S. Poesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great format. Fantastic illustrations. I can see kids interested in monkeys and animals in general perusing this book over and over again.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book, but I don't like that it's called "Mad About Monkeys."

[Awjtf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the illustrations!

[Rebecca Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Great non-fiction that is presented in a beautiful way and suitable for everyone.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info on monkeys, but I would have preferred photographs over illustrations.

[Raya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous and full of interesting facts. If you know a kid who loves an animal covered by this series get them these books!

[Diny Hartiningtias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite series of popular science book. It is very easy to read, great illustration, and full of useful information.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owen Davey is a genius.

[Fausto Bailach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explicaciones sobre los monos con lujo de detalles.

[Theadora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shout out to the Golden Snub-nosed monkey because of His Dark Materials.

[Sarah M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations. Full of factual and interesting information all about monkeys. Covers primates, old world vs new world monkeys 🐒, interesting highlights and behaviors of various species.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great children’s book introducing monkeys. Also, amazing illustrations.

[Teresa Scherping Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

You've probably seen monkeys do cute and crazy things - in videos or at the zoo - but how much do you really know about our primate relatives? This book can start you on your way to learning more about a fascinating group of animals. Here you will learn basic information, like what monkeys eat, where they live, and how they interact with each other. But you will also learn which species of monkey has the best facial hair, which likes to invade hot tubs, and which has a nose that is so long it hangs down over their mouth. Learn the difference between "Old World" and "New World" monkeys, and take a quiz to see if you can tell them apart. The book is beautifully illustrated, but you'll probably want to find some real photos, too. From the tiny pygmy marmoset to the giant mandrill, these amazing animals will have you scrambling to find out more.

I loved this book because it gives a great sense of the great variety of monkey species we have on Earth. I loved the beautiful, stylized illustrations, although I also found myself Googling the names of the different species in order to see real photographs. The appearance of some of the stranger monkeys is not exaggerated in the illustrations! I learned a lot of interesting things, and it just made me want to find out more about monkeys. What more can you ask for from a nonfiction picture book?

I would recommend this book to grades 3-6, especially those who love animals. I picked up this one because it reminded me of another illustrated nonfiction book with interesting facts about one kind of animal - Octopuses!: Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about monkeys: small paragraphs that make it easy to read and difficult words are explained. At first I was not sure about the illustrations, but in the end I thought they were great. A good book for children and people who are fascinated by monkeys.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mad About Monkeys is a 40 page chapter book that is heavily illustrated. The chapters are only two pages each, but it still qualifies as a chapter book. The book begins by talking about what monkeys are and evolution. The next chapter talks about the differences between Old World and New World monkeys. Other chapters talk about differences between large and small monkeys, their social life, and what monkeys are best at certain things, i.e., speed and intelligence. One of the closing chapters discusses monkey mythology, including their importance in the Hindu religion and Chinese zodiac. The final chapter discusses deforestation and the impact it is having on the monkeys of the world. Overall, I found this book to be very informative. It contained a nice mixture of useful knowledge and fun facts. However, the star of this book were the illustrations. Owen Davey does a remarkable job making the many different species of monkeys come alive on the pages. The only complaint I have about the book is the matter of fact statement that humans and monkeys evolved from a common ancestor. This is scientific speculation at best, as it has never been proven. For that reason, I deducted a star from my review. If you end up buying this book and liking it, be sure to check out Davey's next book Smart About Sharks.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you think you know everything there is to know about monkeys, this book just might change your mind. Accompanied by vivid illustrations, some of them life-size, the engaging and sometimes humorous text teaches readers about several different types of monkeys. There is information provided about the habits of various primates as well as threats to their habitat. Young readers will be interested in learning how to distinguish between New World Monkeys and Old World Monkeys as well as being introduced to monkeys in mythology. Perhaps most fascinating was an anecdote relating how a Japanese macaques discovered the joys of soaking in warm water, inspiring others of her kind to follow suit. There's so much to enjoy here, including snippets about the special cushions some Old World Monkeys have on their bottoms so they can sit for long periods of time without discomfort. I wish there had been references for fact-checking and additional suggested readings for further exploration. The book was first published in the United Kingdom.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The engaging illustrations are consistent with everything I've seen from Flying Eye publishers so far. Davey's graphic style is a good match for monkeys, and I could tell he enjoyed finding ways to capture the defining characteristics of each kind of monkey. He covers a lot of territory!

Aside from illustration style, what could distinguish an informational book about monkeys from all the rest? This was a very basic informational approach to a book about monkeys, and the writing is in the same vein as almost any topical book--think DK Eyewitness or Capstone. It's not the kind of book I would want to spend an illustrator on if I were editing or publishing today, unless the book were written with some sort of unique slice through its topic. When kids are searching for information on monkeys like this writing provides, they aren't likely to reach for an illustrated picturebook. A narrative line could work, or following a specific news story, or a specific or quirky slice through the topic.