Monkey Madness

by J.P. Arkontaky, Andi Andriansyah (Illustrator)

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2026

Reviews

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monkey Madness is a fantasy animal read that confronts questions of bullies, facing fears, being brave, standing up or not to peer pressure and living under high expectations even if they come from yourself.

Tilly is a tiger cub struggling to become the next amazing Jungle Queen and as a result she takes everything as part of those trials even when she is just basically another student trying to survive. Fortunately even through the jealous bullies, though, she continues to have faithful friends and a strong loving family under the current Jungle Queen.

Since it is geared towards younger children, the book does have some bodily functions mentions scattered throughout. And although we can indirectly figure out the monkey in Tilly's head and what it stands for, none of the adults seemed too worried when she mentioned it nor really offered any advice on how to contain these thoughts or draw in her instincts until around the end.

Readers aee also given a chance to have brightly colored illustrations scattered throughout in ths cartoonish manner that appears on this book's cover. Some illustrations take up a whole spread while others are single.

All in all it was a fast-paced coming-of-age story that young readers should enjoy, especially if they like fictionalized animal reads.
***I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

[Armela Marcin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story! This book truly embodied the theme of courage and bravery in a way that captures young readers attention. I’m excited to uncover Tilly’s next journey! As a teacher, I really enjoyed how this story opens the door for meaningful conversations with students about self-confidence, perseverance, and managing the “voices” in our heads that can sometimes hold us back. Many students can relate to feeling frustrated or doubting themselves when something gets challenging. Tilly’s experience helps show that those feelings are normal, but they don’t have to stop us from trying again. It’s engaging, relatable, and gives students a fun way to think about how their mindset can affect their success. I also love that it encourages students to keep trying, believe in themselves, and push past those negative thoughts that sometimes get in the way :)

[Terri DeRoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a young cubs journey of discovery. She is faced with many of the same challenges in life that children face such as bullying, self confidence, perseverance, and being brave . The author crafted the story in a way that was suspenseful enough to keep a child reading but not scare them. The parents in the story were supportive and guided the cub along her journey to discover her bravery. I really enjoyed the cute illustrations throughout the story that really supported visualization. If I would add anything I would tie up the loose end with how the tiger cub handled the bully. Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I received an advanced copy of this book for free to review. I have left this review voluntarily.