Maxwell the Monkey Barber

by Cale Atkinson (Illustrator)

Maxwell the monkey operates a barbershop, where he offers everything from a trim to a chop. He excels at helping his fellow animals look shipshape and feel their best, no matter how unruly their locks. Whatever the coiffure quandary, Maxwell is your monkey. He tames Baboon’s curls, styles Lion’s mane, and trims Bear’s beard, exclaiming each time: “Your hair’s the best I’ve seen today!”

All’s well until Elephant comes in, feeling sad because he has no hair. Can Maxwell help? Of course! After some careful thinking, he devises a solution to help even Elephant feel his best.

Cale Atkinson’s bright, cartoon-like digital illustrations beckon readers into Maxwell’s world in this playful tale. Rhyming text, speech bubbles, and a refrain make this story a fun read-aloud accessible to early readers. Full of personality and style, Maxwell has a genuine charm and enthusiasm for helping others that kids will find immediately contagious.

LEVELING
Grade Range: PreK–3
Fountas & Pinnell: J
Reading Recovery: 17
Lexile: AD 520L

COMMON CORE
L.1.1,1f,2,2a,2d,4,4a,5,5a,5d
RF.1.1,2,3,3a,3b,3f,4,4a,4b,4c
SL.1.1,1a,1b,1c,2,4,5,6
W.1.1,3,5,6,8
RL.1.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 9, 2016

About the author

Cale Atkinson is an illustrator/writer/animator currently residing in Kelowna Canada.
Believing in tea more than sleep, Cale is constantly working on numerous projects. His work can be found in children’s books, animated shorts, television, and games.

Publishers Cale has worked with include Disney Hyperion, Tundra, Simon and Schuster, Doubleday, KidsCan Press, Owl Books, Grosset & Dunlap, GreyStone, Scholastic, Pearson, and Marvel.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maxwell the monkey barber is ready to give you a trim or a chop, or even to help you solve your baldness problem. And he is always gentle and says "your hair's the best I've seen today".

Rhymed text and colorful pictures tell the funny story of a bunch of lovable characters and their curls, manes and mustaches. Great option for a read aloud time.

Find more children's book reviews in Reviews in Chalk

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxwell is the resident jungle barber and deals with all manor of unruly manes! But then one day a sad elephant comes in opining his lack of locks. Is there anything Maxwell can do to brighten up the elephant's lifelong dream of hair? The illustrations were quite cute too and Benji enjoyed picking out the different animals, and we had fun determining who in the last picture needed a 'wig' or a 'chop'!

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cut my own hair. Which is probably why it looks like an actual monkey cut it for me...

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a monkey who can fix all of your hair woes. Too much or too little? Not a problem for Maxwell. The illustrations are hilarious and there's a good message too: everybody can feel good about the way they look, even if they come in feeling a little less than beautiful.

[Melisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute rhyming book with sweet illustrations. I'd say best up to 4 years.

3.5 stars.

Thank you, Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute illustration/animations that my youngest enjoyed. Nice rhyming and repetition that my primary library students will love.

[Stephanie Reid · Rating 1 out of 5]

very cute book but the flow is terrible especially with it rhyming

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Blue Bison Needs a Haircut earlier in the week, I was reminded of this haircut-friendly picture book. The grands and I have read it together and agree this is a notable and funny read to share. Maxwell has many customers who needed a chop. Baboon, lion, and bear all come in for a trim and feel so much better after their visit to the barber. Elephant has no hair at all and he is cold! How can Maxwell help him? You will have to read the book and find out. Here's a hint: the heartwarming solution is a three-letter word that rhymes with "pig." 🥰

And before your go,
might I say,
Your hair's the best I've seen today!

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Today’s review is Maxwell The Monkey Barber by Cale Atkinson, a delightful story about a helpful hairstylist who keeps the beasts of the jungle neatly coiffed.

Every day, Maxwell the monkey barber opens his little shop, and the customers roll in right away. Up today: a baboon whose out-of-control hairdo has ensnared all manner of critters, large and small; a lion whose scraggly mane is in dire need of a makeover; and a bear whose burly beard is now brushing the ground. After Max fixes up each head of hair, he sends his customers off with a smile and an assurance that their hair is the best he’s seen that day. But at the end of one day, a sad elephant comes to call: he doesn’t have any hair, and his head gets quite cold. This might be Maxwell’s toughest challenge yet: how can he give the elephant the ‘do of his dreams without a single hair to work with?

Absolutely charming! Maxwell’s story is simply adorable: sweet, funny, cheerful, and with just the right amount of fluff. Maxwell’s solution of using his customers’ hair to create wigs for those who need them shows kindness and compassion, and is reminiscent of charities who do the same for cancer and burn patients, making this a great way to teach kids about donating hair. The illustrations are darling, using bright colors and wonderfully expressive characters to capture readers’ attention and imagination. The length is great, and JJ and I both loved it. Baby Bookworm approved!

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Lindsey Lawntea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxwell is the best barber in the jungle. The animals all come to him for a trim - but what is he to do when Elephant shows up with no hair? This is a super sweet rhyming story with hilarious and adorable illustrations. The one with Maxwell using a banana for a mustache is my favorite!

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite of Cale Atkinson's books, but still fun. Between 3-4 stars. Like all of his books, though, there's still a lot of humor and very sweet illustrations. It just didn't hit my sweet spot the way Explorers of the Wild or Sir Simon: Super Scarer did.

A fun one for storytimes on haircuts or jungle animals. Plenty of interactive question possibilities with naming the animals, who needs haircuts or styles or so forth.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The jungle is full of hairy hairy animals, so Maxwell does his best to keep them looking good. But what will he do when he meets someone with no hair at all?

I liked the silly pictures better than the rhyming text, but this is a good silly book that's easy to read, perfect for an emerging reader who enjoys jungle animals. (I have to point out that a lion is not a jungle animal but a savanna one, but this is a common mistake, and leopards just don't have as many bad hair days).

[Victoria B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations. The story is cute, the rhyming rhythm is almost perfect - great for reading out loud. Maxwell is very diplomatic with all of his customers (everyone has the "best hair he's ever seen") and helps a hapless, hairless customer to boot. But the illustrations are really great, especially for kids.

[emmegail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute rhyming story about a monkey barber who can tame all kinds of hair! The illustrations really make this one fun! Also recommended by this author, one of our favorites – Explorers of the Wild!
Thanks to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Meghan K · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC
Such a cute book! My son used to be afraid of getting his hair cut. We read this book often. He always laughs at the different animals getting different types of haircuts. Especially the elephant, because it’s my favorite animal and elephant doesn’t really have any hair to cut. Maxwell to the rescue!

[KayCee K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxwell the Monkey Barber by Cale Atkinson is such a cute read! I don't read many children books but I would love to get this for my niece. She would love the colors and animals; it's a quick read that bright a smile to my face. NetGalley Review

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a monkey barber who tames the unruly hair of the jungle animals. One day elephant shows up and WANTS hair put on, not clipped off. Luckily, monkey is of the resourceful sort and takes all his clippings to make elephant a fantastic wig.

Illustrations are fun.

[Rosemary Szczygiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre-K - 3. Great rhyming book. Great illustrations (for use) may have been digitally produced and on the cartoony side, but delightfully useful. Subjects: hair and wigs. Animals.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxwell trims the wild hair of his customers, and one day a customer arrives who is sad to have a cold head with no hair. Maxwell comes up with an idea.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute rhyming book about a monkey barber who gives a trim to all the animals.

The illustrations are fantastic.

This is a quick read, great for toddlers & up.

Kids enjoyed it.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freaking adorable barber monkey

[Christina Rittenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute read!

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book with great illustrations!

[Marni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one surprised me. Happy and fun with delightful repetition. And good rhyming! This needed one more page though. Felt like it left me hanging. Even one more picture.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atkinson Adventure #7
Monkey runs a barber shop and well it is as absurd as it sounds.

[elstaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, art is a 5, story is a 2, which averages and rounds up to three stars.

[Taryn]

Adorably illustrated children's book about a little monkey who operates a barbershop in the jungle. Maxwell enthusiastically trims hair for all of his jungle mates, but one day an elephant comes in with what seems to be an insurmountable problem. He wants hair! Maxwell puzzles over a solution, and in the process starts a new trend.

Maxwell enthusiastically helps his neighbors, no matter what the challenge. When confronted with a difficult task, he works until he finds a solution.

Maxwell the Monkey Barber is a silly and delightful book to read aloud!

I received this book from Owlkids Books and Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

[Kate Puleo Unger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as much as I was hoping. I think I'd read that it was really funny, but I just found it kind of odd. Maxwell is a monkey barber. He cuts hair, mustaches, and manes for other animals in the jungle. The animals all have really, really long hair, and he ends up with a lot of clippings. He needs something to do with all of them, and the perfect solution comes along. It took Christopher a minute to figure out what had happened when he saw the picture. He read this book, and maybe he liked it more than I did. We didn't really discuss it. Maybe my expectations were too high.

http://www.momsradius.com/2017/01/juv...

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's no monkeying around with this barber because he has quite the job to do!

Maxwell is the jungle's barber, and it's his job to help all the other animals with their hair emergencies--a task he gladly fulfills. A snip and a snap, and he can tame the most wild mess, creating a perfect do. That is, until the elephant comes with a problem Maxwell hasn't encountered before.

Watching all the different animals march through Maxwell's shop is a joy in itself. The colorful illustrations capture the hairy fun in ways that is sure to make young readers giggle for glee. There are enough details to draw readers' attention time and again while still staying simple enough for even the younger listeners. The sneaky, growing pile of hair in the background adds a lovely dab of what might come without being overly obvious. And the antics catch the animals' personalities, making these pictures easy to flip through and get a story all on its own.

The vocabulary is very fitting for the age group and easy to read. Sticking to rhymes, the adventure takes on a cute atmosphere very fitting to the monkey antics. Sometimes the rhythm is off, which breaks the flow while reading the book aloud, but the story pulls through nicely, holding even more distracted listeners' attention.

It's a cute, fun read which draws in with the illustrations and is sure to leave a smile after seeing those wild hair styles.

I'm giving this one a 3.5 but rounding up.
I received a free copy via Netgalley for an honest review.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This charming tale is a delight to read. A good-hearted, generous little monkey puts on his thinking cap and utilizing the adage: reduce, reuse, and recycle... greatly increasing his clientele numbers.

Animals off all shapes and sizes visit his barbershop to get coiffed-supreme. He snips, trims and extracts to perfection always complimenting his customers by saying:

"And before you go,
might I say,
You're hair's
the best
I've seen today!"

Then one day an elephant enters his shop who is sad and downhearted. He is suffering near hypothermia because he has NO hair on his head. What is a poor elephant to do? Maxwell examines Mr. Elephant closely, and scratching his head, tells him to come back tomorrow for the anti-dote to the bald elephant's predicament. Pondering, thinking, puzzling, wracking his brain way into the night monkey finally reaches an Eureka moment! Clever little monkey has just the thing to put a smile on downtrodden elephant's face...can you guess what it might be?

The illustrations are bright, colourful, vibrant and enrich the storyline to perfection. The book is written in rhyme (something kids will love) and the humour depicted will have kid's smiling all the way to the end of the book. Sheer delight. I highly recommend this book.