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Night Monkey, Day Monkey: A Beautifully Illustrated Story of Fun and Friendship
An excellent choice for bedtime, this Smarties Book Prize–winning tale of two confused monkeys illustrates the differences between daytime and nighttime
Night Monkey and Day Monkey's worlds are as different as night and day! What one fears, the other one loves, what one understands, only confuses the other. But in learning about each other's opposite worlds and laughing at their own misunderstandings, they learn to be the best of friends. This boisterous and rhythmic read-along story by Julia Donaldson is stunningly illustrated by Lucy Richards.
Night Monkey and Day Monkey's worlds are as different as night and day! What one fears, the other one loves, what one understands, only confuses the other. But in learning about each other's opposite worlds and laughing at their own misunderstandings, they learn to be the best of friends. This boisterous and rhythmic read-along story by Julia Donaldson is stunningly illustrated by Lucy Richards.
32 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2002
10 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Julia Donaldson
1,233 books1,930 followersGrowing up
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.
Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.
The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.
One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.
Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.
The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.
One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.
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June 8, 2018Çocuklar da yetişkinler gibi rutinleri sever, gün içerisinde ne zaman ne olacağını bilmek kendilerini güvende hissetmelerini sağlar. Geçtiğimiz 10 gün içinde İdil'in uyku öncesi rutinine eklenen bu kitap şimdilik favori kitabı. Gündüz maymununun ormanda ilk kez geceyi yaşadığında gördüğü ateşböcekleri, yarasalar, gölde şarkı söyleyen kurbağalar ve ay ile gece maymununun gündüz ormanda ilk kez gördüğü kelebekler, papağanlar, şempanzeler ve kendi gölgesi çocuklara hem gece ve gündüz arasındaki farkı göstermesi hem de herkesin uyuması gereken bir zaman olduğunu hatırlatması açısından çok güzel bir kitap. Yalnız bu kitapta da bazı çocuk kitaplarında olduğu gibi gün içinde çocuğumuzun yanında kullanmak istemediğimiz, öğrenmesinden rahatsızlık duyacağımız kelimeler var. Bu kitapta örnek olarak çok yerde "sersem" kelimesi geçiyor. Minikler için olmasının faydası kelimeyi gönül rahatlığıyla değiştirebilmek. Ben mesela içerikle uyumlu olduğu için kelimeyi "komik" olarak değiştirmeyi tercih ettim. Son olarak kitap 2 yaş ve üzeri için uygun.
October 6, 2020
A very enjoyable family read time..
April 4, 2022
It is my Favourite book!!!!!!!!!
- edit: don’t know exactly when i read this, but it’s my favourite book from when i was a kid
- edit: don’t know exactly when i read this, but it’s my favourite book from when i was a kid
December 16, 2018
Lovely story describing the difference between night animals and day animals . It also teaches the children in very nice way accept the difference ...
September 2, 2015
Night Monkey Day Monkey by Julia Donaldson
Night Monkey Day Monkey is a very simple yet charming children’s book by the same author who brought us the children’s classic ‘The Gruffalo’. The book revolves around two monkeys Day Monkey and Night Monkey who as the names suggest sleep and wake at different hours of the day. Each monkey takes the other on a journey through the worlds they live in. The story starts at night, when Night Monkey wakes Day Monkey from his sleep by whispering “you can’t catch me”. Day Monkey then chases her and experiences the Jungle as he’s never seen it before. Night Monkey teaches him all about Fireflies, Bats and other things that only come out at night. The story then takes us the other way, in the early morning Day Monkey wakes Night Monkey by whispering “you can’t catch me” in her ear. Day Monkey takes Night Monkey on a similar journey, teaching her all about Parrots, Chimpanzees, and other things that are out in the day. The two Monkeys decide that they do not like the others worlds but decide to meet every day at dusk when it’s not quite day and it’s not quite night, to share some bananas and be with their new friend.
This is a lovely children’s book all about friendship. This story looks at the differences between the jungle during the day time and night time giving children the opportunity to spot the different animals that come out in the night and the day. But It also reflects on the difference between the two monkeys themselves, it shows children that even though they are very different they can still be very good friends. The book is full of simple but compelling rhymes that even adults can’t help but get sucked into and the illustrations by Lucy Richards are colourful and vibrant, they really make the Jungle come to life.
This book is obviously meant for early years age children and is perfect for Story time. However I have had experience using this book with SEN children in English lessons, the pictures are clear, the language is simple and as I have said the rhymes are very engaging. Its offers plenty of opportunity to spot and discover the different animals, so there are a lot of exercises that can be created around this story.
Night Monkey Day Monkey is a very simple yet charming children’s book by the same author who brought us the children’s classic ‘The Gruffalo’. The book revolves around two monkeys Day Monkey and Night Monkey who as the names suggest sleep and wake at different hours of the day. Each monkey takes the other on a journey through the worlds they live in. The story starts at night, when Night Monkey wakes Day Monkey from his sleep by whispering “you can’t catch me”. Day Monkey then chases her and experiences the Jungle as he’s never seen it before. Night Monkey teaches him all about Fireflies, Bats and other things that only come out at night. The story then takes us the other way, in the early morning Day Monkey wakes Night Monkey by whispering “you can’t catch me” in her ear. Day Monkey takes Night Monkey on a similar journey, teaching her all about Parrots, Chimpanzees, and other things that are out in the day. The two Monkeys decide that they do not like the others worlds but decide to meet every day at dusk when it’s not quite day and it’s not quite night, to share some bananas and be with their new friend.
This is a lovely children’s book all about friendship. This story looks at the differences between the jungle during the day time and night time giving children the opportunity to spot the different animals that come out in the night and the day. But It also reflects on the difference between the two monkeys themselves, it shows children that even though they are very different they can still be very good friends. The book is full of simple but compelling rhymes that even adults can’t help but get sucked into and the illustrations by Lucy Richards are colourful and vibrant, they really make the Jungle come to life.
This book is obviously meant for early years age children and is perfect for Story time. However I have had experience using this book with SEN children in English lessons, the pictures are clear, the language is simple and as I have said the rhymes are very engaging. Its offers plenty of opportunity to spot and discover the different animals, so there are a lot of exercises that can be created around this story.
October 14, 2013
Night Monkey Day Monkey by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Lucy Richards
Age range I would use it for: Key stage 1, 3 – 6 Years
Brief Synopsis:
Two monkeys that live in a jungle, wake up at different times of the day that they are used to, and retell what they noticed.
My Opinion:
The book represents concepts that children can relate to, they are discovering their surroundings just like the monkeys. The day monkey is learning new things about their jungle in the night, such as; shadows and night monkey learns about the features of a jungle in the day, such as; the brightness of the sun.
Uses In The Classroom:
This is a good classroom book to have accessible to children; to read to a whole class in the early years and useful for independent reading in year 1. The concept of night and day fits in nicely to a lesson about science for year 1. Children can discuss their daytime routines and compare it to their night routines, from this the teacher can model the differences in night and day and why it exists. The book can also be used to discuss the difference in the type of work that people do in the night and day, this will allow children to understand more about their world, linking into R.E.
Age range I would use it for: Key stage 1, 3 – 6 Years
Brief Synopsis:
Two monkeys that live in a jungle, wake up at different times of the day that they are used to, and retell what they noticed.
My Opinion:
The book represents concepts that children can relate to, they are discovering their surroundings just like the monkeys. The day monkey is learning new things about their jungle in the night, such as; shadows and night monkey learns about the features of a jungle in the day, such as; the brightness of the sun.
Uses In The Classroom:
This is a good classroom book to have accessible to children; to read to a whole class in the early years and useful for independent reading in year 1. The concept of night and day fits in nicely to a lesson about science for year 1. Children can discuss their daytime routines and compare it to their night routines, from this the teacher can model the differences in night and day and why it exists. The book can also be used to discuss the difference in the type of work that people do in the night and day, this will allow children to understand more about their world, linking into R.E.
September 25, 2018
A great book for cross curricular work, it can be used to help children understand about animals and their sleeping patterns as well as the difference between day and night.
Suitable for early years and KS1.
Suitable for early years and KS1.
July 3, 2020
This is a fabulous book for all little dino fans with a sense of humour. Ten freshly hatched baby dinosaurs sneak away from Mum to explore and immediately get into all sorts of trouble with other, bigger dinosaurs, flesh-eating plants, geysers and volcanos.
My first thoughts were, hey, this is a bit scary for little kids, but I sat down with my 2 year-old grandson, and he loved it so much I had to read it six times in a row! He’s mad about books and has lots of them, but this has turned into a firm favorite. Yes, the ideas are a bit frightening, but the crazy, colourful illustrations make the baby dinosaurs’ misadventures so funny, it’s impossible not to laugh. The real clincher is the page about dodging heaps of poo!
I love books that lend themselves to being read aloud, and this is right up there, with lots of scope for funny noises, faces and gestures. Plus, the illustrations have loads of interesting detail, so there’s something new to discover and talk about every time. On the educational side, it’s a fun way to get little ones thinking about counting backwards and the concept of subtraction.
A real winner and easy 5 stars.
My first thoughts were, hey, this is a bit scary for little kids, but I sat down with my 2 year-old grandson, and he loved it so much I had to read it six times in a row! He’s mad about books and has lots of them, but this has turned into a firm favorite. Yes, the ideas are a bit frightening, but the crazy, colourful illustrations make the baby dinosaurs’ misadventures so funny, it’s impossible not to laugh. The real clincher is the page about dodging heaps of poo!
I love books that lend themselves to being read aloud, and this is right up there, with lots of scope for funny noises, faces and gestures. Plus, the illustrations have loads of interesting detail, so there’s something new to discover and talk about every time. On the educational side, it’s a fun way to get little ones thinking about counting backwards and the concept of subtraction.
A real winner and easy 5 stars.
January 11, 2025
Night Monkey, Day Monkey by Julia Donaldson and Lucy Richards is a delightful and engaging story about two monkeys who live in opposite worlds—one in the day and the other at night. The clever narrative beautifully highlights the differences between daytime and nighttime while showcasing the importance of understanding and appreciating each other’s experiences. The rhyming text flows effortlessly, making it a joy to read aloud, and the vibrant illustrations perfectly complement the story.
My child loves the contrasting adventures of the monkeys and giggles at their curious discoveries. It's a wonderful book to spark conversations about nature and the world around us. This charming tale not only entertains but also teaches empathy and friendship. It's a must-have for young readers and makes for a cozy bedtime read. Highly recommended!
My child loves the contrasting adventures of the monkeys and giggles at their curious discoveries. It's a wonderful book to spark conversations about nature and the world around us. This charming tale not only entertains but also teaches empathy and friendship. It's a must-have for young readers and makes for a cozy bedtime read. Highly recommended!
March 15, 2017
Another new addition to our ever growing Julia Donaldson collection. Beautiful illustrations and a nice easy to follow story, with the message that even when you are different you can still be friends. My 5 year old daughter loved seeing all of the different things the monkeys had to show each other. I can see this one becoming a firm favourite. I'll be quite sad when her obsession with Julia Donaldson ends or I run out of new ones to surprise her with.
December 1, 2019
Teaching children about opposites, Night Monkey Day Monkey is a great way of introducing little ones to the idea that even though things might look similar on the outside, they can be very different on the inside! I'm not surprised I loved this one - Julia Donaldson's picture books are always superb - I'm just surprised that I only heard about it at storytime a few weeks ago, because this is one of her better books.
October 21, 2021
A calming book that begins to teach about the variations and similarities between day and night. Noah wasn’t overly fussed, plus it was tricky to read the first half with black text overlaid on a dark blue background.
March 23, 2022
Lost count how many times we have read this story so far this year. My eldest now joins in as we read. It absolutely delights both my four year old and two year old. Wonderful story and beautiful illustrations.
January 26, 2023
'Day monkey laughed and said don't be daft..." , it's something of a song in my house now. An adorable little story telling the tale of 2 monkeys, while helping children understand the habits of animals that are nocturnal. I love a little science thrown into stories!
March 26, 2017
Actually too wordy to be a proper board book, but very cute story with adorable illustrations.
April 23, 2017
Çok güzel :)
October 28, 2017
One of my favourites, the rhyme, as usual with Julia Donaldson, is fantastic. It's fun and informative, perfect for day time and night time :)
December 27, 2017
very cute story that i read to my son quite a few times he loved it
January 30, 2018
Sweet rhyme
September 24, 2018
so its about 2 diffrent kind of mokeys that always fought between each other then they made adeal so none of themm will bother another again so this is how i remeber
October 30, 2018
Good rhyming book. Monkeys live in different 'worlds.'
December 28, 2018
This is another lovely story by Julia Donaldson. Ever since we bought it for the nursery that I work at the children have been asking for it to be read everyday. Very popular!
January 18, 2019
A book about differences . Being different and yet liking each other’s world accepting each other’s world and learning from the differences. Acceptance is the best lesson taught by this book.
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September 24, 2019Good Rhyming story with an easy repeating story line.
October 22, 2019
This is a lovely book with the perfect amount of words (rhymes) to hold our 2 year old son's attention. He's even happy to sit through multiple readings!
January 11, 2020
Sweet story of a nocturnal and a diurnal monkey which make friends but have trouble being awake together.
May 29, 2020
This is one of our all time favorite stories.
December 19, 2020
Lovely soothing book with a chuckle on each page xx
November 12, 2021
I didn’t really enjoy reading out loud the word “daft” over and over again to my kids.
May 29, 2022
Two monkeys become the best of friends when they explore each other’s worlds (daytime/nighttime) and teach each other.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews