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Slowly! Slowly!
Slowly, slowly, you catch a monkey ...
Bongani wants to go to school but he is too young. To prove to his family that he is big and strong just like his cousins, he tries to catch a monkey.
Slowly, slowly, he must go.
Luckily his family is there is to school him in the lessons of patience and compassion.
Adapted from a South African story, this variation of ‘Softly, softly, catchee monkey’ was originally an Ashanti (Ghana) proverb quoted by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Founder of the Boy Scouts.
Bongani wants to go to school but he is too young. To prove to his family that he is big and strong just like his cousins, he tries to catch a monkey.
Slowly, slowly, he must go.
Luckily his family is there is to school him in the lessons of patience and compassion.
Adapted from a South African story, this variation of ‘Softly, softly, catchee monkey’ was originally an Ashanti (Ghana) proverb quoted by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Founder of the Boy Scouts.
- GenresChildrens
30 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2017
1 person is currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
T.M. Clark
12 books86 followersT.M. Clark
Zimbabwean-born T.M. Clark combines her passion for storytelling, different cultures and wildlife with her love for the wild in her multicultural books. Writing for adults and children, she has been nominated for a Queensland Literary Award and is a Children’s Book Council Notable. When not killing her fans and hiding their bodies (all in the name of literature), Tina Marie coordinates the CYA Conference (www.cyaconference.com), providing professional development for new and established writers and illustrators, and is the co-presenter at Writers as Sea (www.WritersAtSea.com.au). She loves mentoring emerging writers, eating chocolate biscuits and collecting books for creating libraries in Papua New Guinea.
Visit T.M. Clark at tmclark.com.au
Her books include My Brother-But-One, nominated for a Queensland Literary People’s Choice Award in 2014. Shooting Butterflies, Tears of A Cheetah, Child of Africa, Nature of the Lion and Cry of the Firebird. Her children’s picture books include Slowly! Slowly!, which is a 2018 CBCA Notable Book, and Quickly! Quickly! which are companion books to Child Of Africa.
Her new novel, Song of the Starlings is out now.
Zimbabwean-born T.M. Clark combines her passion for storytelling, different cultures and wildlife with her love for the wild in her multicultural books. Writing for adults and children, she has been nominated for a Queensland Literary Award and is a Children’s Book Council Notable. When not killing her fans and hiding their bodies (all in the name of literature), Tina Marie coordinates the CYA Conference (www.cyaconference.com), providing professional development for new and established writers and illustrators, and is the co-presenter at Writers as Sea (www.WritersAtSea.com.au). She loves mentoring emerging writers, eating chocolate biscuits and collecting books for creating libraries in Papua New Guinea.
Visit T.M. Clark at tmclark.com.au
Her books include My Brother-But-One, nominated for a Queensland Literary People’s Choice Award in 2014. Shooting Butterflies, Tears of A Cheetah, Child of Africa, Nature of the Lion and Cry of the Firebird. Her children’s picture books include Slowly! Slowly!, which is a 2018 CBCA Notable Book, and Quickly! Quickly! which are companion books to Child Of Africa.
Her new novel, Song of the Starlings is out now.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 4, 2018
What an absolutely delightful story the picture book, Slowly! Slowly! by Aussie author T.M. Clark, and illustrated by Helene Magisson, is! The author’s first foray into children’s fiction and to my mind, it’s a hit! I know my grandchildren will love it, especially my twenty-month-old grandson.
I remember the saying “softly softly, catchee monkey” from when I was a child, and this story is adapted from that, which is a proverb quoted by Lord Baden-Powell of the Boy Scouts, many years ago. It’s originally South African (hence the monkeys and hyenas). Little Bongani wanted to go to school like his cousins, but he was too small. This is the story of how he passed his days, helping his father and grandfather with the crops.
If you have young children or grandchildren, Slowly! Slowly! is perfect for them. Highly recommended.
With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
I remember the saying “softly softly, catchee monkey” from when I was a child, and this story is adapted from that, which is a proverb quoted by Lord Baden-Powell of the Boy Scouts, many years ago. It’s originally South African (hence the monkeys and hyenas). Little Bongani wanted to go to school like his cousins, but he was too small. This is the story of how he passed his days, helping his father and grandfather with the crops.
If you have young children or grandchildren, Slowly! Slowly! is perfect for them. Highly recommended.
With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
October 31, 2017
It's an expression of perseverance that I've used for years but to see it rendered as this beguiling picture book is a delight I never expected to embrace so joyfully. Slowly! Slowly! resonates with affectionate family values. A small boy is impatient to grow and learn and be more than he is. His family temper his yearnings with humour and ancient fables to foster a sense of compassion and tenacity. As does Bongani, they eventually succeed.
Clark's prose is sincere and generous, sprinkled with enough repeating ideas and phrases to tease little ones into turning the pages, while Magisson's illustrations are a magnificent match to this inspired story. Visually powerful yet sculptured with heart, they possess a glowing quality that encourages you to really explore every page for the treasures secreted within. This is a successful blend of art and story that is a pure joy to experience.
Clark's prose is sincere and generous, sprinkled with enough repeating ideas and phrases to tease little ones into turning the pages, while Magisson's illustrations are a magnificent match to this inspired story. Visually powerful yet sculptured with heart, they possess a glowing quality that encourages you to really explore every page for the treasures secreted within. This is a successful blend of art and story that is a pure joy to experience.
December 8, 2017
This book will see children immersed into the customs and culture of Africa, where we take a journey of persistence, patience and resilience. Slowly! Slowly! has been adapted into a story in South Africa from a proverb “Softly, softly, catchee monkey”.
This beautiful story is about a little boy Bongani and he wants to go to school, but his family tell him he is too young. Grandfather distracts Bongani by saying that he won’t be able to catch a monkey if he goes to school, and he is immediately interested in being able to catch one. The phrase ‘Slowly, slowly, you catch a monkey’ is said a few times throughout the book, which only makes Bongani more determined to catch one. However, his challenge of trying to catch a monkey doesn’t turn out to be all that he had imagined, and certainly not as easy.
There is a lot to talk about with your young reader about this book. You can explain to your child that this book is more than just about catching monkeys, that it is about patience, family, school and gratitude. It is a lovely story and would make a perfect book to read to your preschooler and school aged child. If you want to take the story a little further, there are some really thorough and useful teacher notes on the book website.
The colours in the illustrations are gentle, with lots of purple and green hues. The faces of the animals and people are very expressive and you get a good understanding how they are feeling without reading any words. There is a good balance between white space and the drawings, I like that the pages aren’t too cluttered, but still give you so much to take in and enjoy as part of the story.
One of the positive aspects of the book is that the writing is very neat and easy to read which makes it a good book for early readers. Some words like hyena and Bongani might be hard to pronounce and sound out but overall the words would be easily recognised.
This beautiful story is about a little boy Bongani and he wants to go to school, but his family tell him he is too young. Grandfather distracts Bongani by saying that he won’t be able to catch a monkey if he goes to school, and he is immediately interested in being able to catch one. The phrase ‘Slowly, slowly, you catch a monkey’ is said a few times throughout the book, which only makes Bongani more determined to catch one. However, his challenge of trying to catch a monkey doesn’t turn out to be all that he had imagined, and certainly not as easy.
There is a lot to talk about with your young reader about this book. You can explain to your child that this book is more than just about catching monkeys, that it is about patience, family, school and gratitude. It is a lovely story and would make a perfect book to read to your preschooler and school aged child. If you want to take the story a little further, there are some really thorough and useful teacher notes on the book website.
The colours in the illustrations are gentle, with lots of purple and green hues. The faces of the animals and people are very expressive and you get a good understanding how they are feeling without reading any words. There is a good balance between white space and the drawings, I like that the pages aren’t too cluttered, but still give you so much to take in and enjoy as part of the story.
One of the positive aspects of the book is that the writing is very neat and easy to read which makes it a good book for early readers. Some words like hyena and Bongani might be hard to pronounce and sound out but overall the words would be easily recognised.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews