Little Monkey

Frustrated by missed opportunities on account of her smallness, Little Monkey decides she won’t be left out any longer; it’s time to prove herself. “I will climb to the top of the tallest tree. The jungle is NOT too big for me, you’ll see!” she announces as she sets out. What she doesn’t know as she navigates the dangerous river and difficult path, is that, despite noticing a whole lot of little things accomplishing amazing things, she isn’t alone on her journey. (There’s a touch of Rosie’s Walk here).

Before long Monkey arrives at the bottom of the tallest tree in the jungle and eagerly begins her ascent: I suspect you’ll have listeners calling “Look behind you!” at this point. Paw by paw she climbs till finally, there she stands on the topmost fronds gazing down at the whole world before her – everything. But why are the other members of her troop waving so enthusiastically in the distance? Certainly Little Monkey has plenty to feel proud of and she knows she’s lucky, after all she’s just had an amazing adventure.

Rising star, Marta Altés uses comic visual artistry to show us what she doesn’t say, heightening the dramatic effects and gigglesome delights revealed at every turn of the page. This is destined to become a storytime favourite I suspect.