Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Maniac Muffins

Monkey with a Tool Belt

by Chris Monroe

Inspiration for the Netflix series Chico Bon Bon! Clark's baking project is not going as planned. Now gigantic maniac muffins are on the loose! To stop them, Chico Bon Bon needs a plan . . . and his tool belt, of course. With the right tools and some quick thinking, this crumbly disaster might just have a tasty solution! "Monroe's imaginative illustrations play with composition as well as perspective, offering detail-minded readers endless surprises. . . . A winner."― Kirkus Reviews for Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem

Don't miss Chico Bon Bon's other adventures!
Monkey with a Tool Belt
Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem
Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Seaside Shenanigans

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

40 pages, Paperback

Published January 3, 2023

About the author

Chris Monroe's humor and intricate illustrations draw high praise from reviewers and bloggers alike. Chris is also the author and illustrator of Totally Uncool and the long-running comic strip Violet Days. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right along with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," "Chico Bon Bon had never seen a pancake do so much damage" will go down as one of the better opening lines in literary history. I have been aware of this monkey with a tool belt series but have not yet had the good fortune of reading one. This was a great place to start.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute. A great books for the little kids and even older ones. The illustrations are very cute and I love that it gives the recipes. Great books to read to the kids...over and over again! :)

[Jennybeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chico Bon-Bon had never seen a pancake do so much damage....

Chris Monroe wins at the best first liners for picture books. She just wins. I'm delighted at further Chico Bon-Bon adventures, and the little muffin faces are hi-larious.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books crack me up.

[skcocnaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

It got a little dark and I didn’t hate it, lol.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chico Bon Bon is back and is helping his friend Clark the Elephant prepare for a party he was giving for his Uncle Bill. Clark is cooking from memory, but the results are making a huge problem. His breakfast pancakes have become a little too "dense" taking out a chunk of the ceiling and sticking Wayne to the floor. Chico Bon Bon sees how he can help by cleaning up the kitchen, repairing the damage and loading the pancakes onto a cart with a winch. He'll return later with an ax. When he returns to watch Clark make the Blueberry muffins he suggests that maybe Clark is adding a bit too much baking soda. The muffins end up blowing up the oven and releasing hot blueberry muffins that look like monsters. They burst through the door and ran amok heading for Main Street leaving a path of destruction. But Chico has a plan to head off the Maniac Muffins. It is all too genius and way too much fun.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chico Bon Bon is a monkey with a tool belt. He can build all sorts of things and loves to fix things too. When his friend Clark the elephant bakes to get ready for a party for his uncle, he makes a mess and has problems. Chico has a plan and of course it involves his tool belt and his problem solving skills. The party is a success thanks to Chico Bon Bon.

This series is made up of smart picture books, celebrating intelligence and ingenuity. The text is fun to read with its rhyming lines and great pacing. The pictures complete the book perfectly. They are quirky, funny and just like the text do not talk down to the child audience. What a treat!

Highly recommended especially for tool-loving girls and boys. Appropriate for ages 4-7. This series would be great for Kindergarten classrooms as well as school, public and family libraries.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to write a picture book sequel that expands on the charm of the original without falling into a rut? Monkey with a Tool Belt was so cool and the sequel was even better! A mystery was solved and a new friend was made, while keeping all the off beat elements that made the first book so fun. But the third book, Seaside Shenanigans, fell flat.

Luckily this fourth book gives Chico Bon Bon just the right kind of silly adventure with delicious twist. And brings back Clark the Elephant, the lovable doofus. Huzzah for the return of Monkey with a Tool Belt!

[Kate Puleo Unger · Rating 2 out of 5]

ages 4-8

This book was too strange for my taste. It's pure chaos. Clark the elephant is making food for a party he's throwing, but in the process he is completely destroying the house. Chico the monkey can't help but try and clean up. When Clark makes maniac muffins that start destroying the town, Chico has an idea. Using all of Clark's other failed cooking, he manages to save the day. Maybe kids would find this funny?

http://www.momsradius.com/2016/12/cyb...

[Katherine Munoz]

Summary:
Clark is cooking it up in the kitchen…but his food is not turning out as expected. His blueberry muffins turned into gigantic maniac muffins, and they’re destroying everything. Chico Bon Bon grabs his tool belt and quickly comes up with a plan. Will his plan work?

Activity:
If you had a tool bet, what would you carry in it? Draw your own tool belt and at least 10 items you would carry. Label each item and explain what you would use it for.

Citation:
Monroe, C. (2016). Monkey With a Tool Belt and the Maniac Muffins. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all know a so-so cook. Someone's whose pancakes taste more like drywall. Elephant is just such a cook. Let’s not talk about his glue like lemon pudding, or his cannonball muffins. They are a disaster, literally. Now it is up to the monkey to save the day with his trusty tool belt. A ridiculous story that kids will find appealing (no banana pun intended) and be pleased to read over and over again.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Chico checks out the kitchen he finds his friends are creating huge disasters. He quickly gets to work repairing everything when Elephants muffins explode out of the oven and begin to demolish everything in their path. Quick thinking Chico saves the day by using all of the culinary mistakes made by his friends. This hilarious book would appeal to young cooks and repairmen ages five to eight.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never seen the other 3 books in this set, (first one published in 2007) so I can't comment on how this fits with the others. However, this is an action-filled, problem-solving story. I'm curious to see how my young students will react to it.
Cartoonish, full-color illustrations with lots of details in the numerous additional characters.
Also include recipes for some fun foods.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

November 2018 - we were both delighted to discover some new-to-us Monkey with a Tool Belt titles, and this one doesn't disappoint. I always love the diagram of tools - lots of good cooking utensils in this one - and Ben loved the mayhem and muffins (he instantly suggested that we try making them and see if the oven door blows off).

[Daphne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be grown, but this picture book made me laugh out loud more than once. It's a scream! And very clever. Monkey and his tool belt save the day after a bunch of muffins become monstrous. Destruction and deliciousness, my two favorite things.

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even the kid was unimpressed with this one. She just kept asking "if Elephant messes up so much, why doesn't anyone stop him? or help him? or teach him to do better?" Because then we wouldn't have an excuse for muffins to be jerks, I guess.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monkey is quite the problem solver!

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chico Bon Bon helps in the aftermath of a kitchen catastrophe.

[Cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books so much!!!!!!

[Alexa L]

Cute story

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for second and third grade storytimes.

[Zainab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zainab loved this story of friends and how they help eachother. I would have to get other books in this series.

[Tobinsfavorite · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was deeply skeptical about this book, as my daughter has brought home many terrible tool-related picture books from the library recently.

This was satisfyingly wacky and pleasant to read.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good writing overcomes hideous illustrations in this case.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monkey and his friends are baking a whole bunch of treats for a party, but a batch of muffins (with way too much baking powder) go berserk! Monkey must use his ingenuity and the baked goods to stop them from destroying the town.

Illustrations are quirky fun.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want a recipe for the lemon pudding blueberry pancake pancake rollups. It’s a good, giggily read aloud choice.

[Paul Graham Terpstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Very smart way to solve the problem.
Even mistakes can be helpful. Just have to think outside the box

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very silly, chaotic story, but I did enjoy it. I liked all of the tools for cooking on Chico Bon Bon's tool belt.

[Mama Bearian · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO GOOFY. Fun, but so so silly.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monroe’s imagination is really something else!

I enjoyed the 24/7 candy store detail.