Who doesn’t love a monkey? I found two adorable children’s picture books about the furry little creatures that I’d like to share with you today.
The first is called “Hug,” and it is one of my favorite books of all time. My husband bought it for me for Mother’s Day about five years ago, and it was a perfect gift. He got major good husband points for that one.
“Hug” is comprised almost entirely of pictures. At first we see a little monkey making his way through the forest. As he goes along, he sees different animal babies being hugged by their mothers. He’s okay with it to start, but the further he goes, and the more hugs he sees, the sadder and sadder he gets, until finally he sits down to cry and all the animals gather around him, looking concerned. Then his mother bursts onto the scene, her arms outstretched, exclaiming, “Bobo!” She runs to him and scoops him up, and the look on his face while he’s hugging her is absolutely priceless. A simple but powerful demonstration of the relationship between a mother and her baby, this book is a keeper.
The other book is called “Cha Cha Chimps.” I’m ready to dance already!
Deep in the jungle, there’s a dance club called Mambo Jamba’s, where all the animals go to party. They wear shiny shoes and their boogie-woogie pants, prepared to dance the night away. Rhinos and pigs, cobras and lions all show up to dance with the monkeys, who shake their maracas and groove to the beat. The little chimps are there as well – they snuck out to come have some fun.
Then the giraffe does the tango, holding a rose between her teeth. Hippo is the hit of the party with his jokes, and the cheetah looks marvelous in her new cat’s eye glasses.
“Ee-ee-oo-oo-ah-ah-ah! Little chimps do the cha-cha!”
Suddenly Mama Chimp bursts in and gathers up her brood, takes them home and puts them to bed. But as soon as they’re asleep, she calls the babysitter, and she heads back down to Mambo Jamba’s, where she does a pretty fine cha-cha herself.
The cadence of the words in this book creates a fun rhythm. You’ll be dancing while you read it!
(“Hug” was written and illustrated by Jez Alborough and published by Candlewick in 2001. “Cha Cha Chimps” was written by Julia Durango, illustrated by Eleanor Taylor, and was published in 2006 by Simon and Shuster.)
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