Five Little Monkeys

by Juliet Kepes

hardcover

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1952

Reviews

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on cause and effect.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

• 1953 Caldecott Honor Book •

I’m surprised this won a Caldecott. I thought the art was unappealing and almost like a child created it with Crayola markers. The monkeys are incomplete looking which is weird since they’re the focus of the story. It oscillates between black & white and color illustrations.

The lessons in this are decent - learning to be kind, forgiving, and about friendship. But the text didn’t really grab me.

This was a hard Caldecott book to get ahold of - I found a copy at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee’s Special Collections!

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story, not another version of the jumping on the bed song, but about animals in Africa, playing tricks on each other. They all learn some kindness and live peaceably in the end. The illustrations were somewhat flat and amateur-looking. I don't know if that was the style or just the limits of publication at the time, but I wasn't particularly impressed.

This is it for me! With this book, I have read all of the Caldecott Medal and Honor books! Until next year. ;)

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of five little monkeys who intentionally cause trouble for other animals but learn to change their ways. I like the themes of kindness and forgiveness, but the book is overly long and a bit boring. I can't imagine a child being interested in this picture book. I also find the illustrations unappealing. I'm surprised the illustrator was awarded a Caldecott Honor for them. Overall, not one I'd recommend.

[Laurel Zeisler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have completed my challenge of reading every Caldecott winner and runner-up book. 376 in total. Most of them had illustrations worthy of the medal. Unfortunately, this one did not. If you can find a copy of this book at your library, tell me what you think of the monkey illustration. Weird and creepy in my opinion. Also, the story wasn't anything great. Sorry.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimately a story of empathy, forgiveness, and grace (even when seemingly undeserved). This is an older children’s book with simple drawings — oscillating between black & white and full color.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alissa loved the monkeys and wondered about their mischief.

[MaryAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really surprised this book won s Caldecott Honor Book back in the 1940s. The illustrations are amateurish and the story disappointing. Not related to the five little monkey book series.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Book
Age Level: Grades 3-5, transitional/fluent
World View: N/A: animals portray no race or status
Theme: Morality, Love for thy neighbors
In the Classroom: Good for jungle vocabulary, and easy to create an active lesson for the kids, in math, science, and any other classroom thanks to the monkey's antics throughout the book.
Illustrations:
Literary Elements: Extensive vocabulary because of the variety of animals in the book, great for learning new words before going on a field trip to the zoo.
Illustrations:

Five trouble-making monkeys go too far in with their playful antics and are taught a lesson by the other creatures of the forest. Once they learn that they must respect their fellow animals, they not only befriend the others, they save the day when Terrible begins to wreak havoc on their herd. This book would be great for a lesson on the rainforest(every teacher has one), because not only is it fun, it uses a very extensive vocabulary to describe the jungle scenes.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tale about mischievous monkeys who redeem themselves and then become heroes. The illustrations are a bit unusual, and in some places, they seem totally random and disorganized. Random images of fruit and animals appear among the text on black and white pages, and some animals - like the lion and tiger - look real, while others, like the monkeys, look very cartoonish and not especially like themselves. I think the illustrations look like a child created them, and they don’t scream “Caldecott” to me at all.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another strange Caldecott book from the 1950's. I liked the story, and most of the illustrations, but the five monkeys themselves are pretty oddly drawn. They were very abstract, with goofy, smiley faces, when the rest of the animals in the jungle were fairly normal in appearance. Just seemed strange to me.

[Lorna · Rating 2 out of 5]

1953 Caldecott Honor

Favorite illustration: The boldly colored spread in the middle of the book that shows the jungle with all of the animals.

Favorite line: "The wart hog was oozing in the soft black mud."

Kid-appeal: I think this book is still too wordy, and probably not appealing enough for kids to sit through today. Plus, the illustration of the monkeys is very odd and a bit creepy!

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! Nostalgia. I had no idea this book was so old. I do remember this was one of the few hardcover books we owned as kids. I remember loving the story and reading and re-reading it.

It's wordy though. Hard for a read aloud now unless you've got a little one tucked in and sleepy and they'll let you go for awhile.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't expecting much from this book, but when I saw a picture of five monkeys riding an alligator down a river with its mouth stuck open with a stick, I knew I had something special in my hands. I loved the story and the mercy and forgiveness and change.

[Dobanion]

Good preschool book.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cadlecott honor

[Brindi Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

1953 Caldecott Honor