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Summary
Summary
This story's silly monkey mayhem also includes a calming bedtime routine that really works.
Sam is never ready to go to sleep at bedtime. There are always more questions to ask Mama, more books to read . . . not to mention the monkeys! Sam's rambunctious trio of toy monkeys would much rather jump on the bed and make up songs about ping pong than go to sleep.
Eventually Sam wants to go to sleep. But how will he ever get the monkeys to settle down?
This story's silly monkey mayhem also includes a calming bedtime routine that really works.
Author Notes
Gennifer Choldenko was born in Santa Monica, California.
Gennifer Choldenko is a Newbery Honor-winning American writer of popular books for children and adolescents. Her first novel, Notes From a Liar and Her Dog was named "Best Book of the Year" by School Library Journal and her second, Al Capone Does My Shirts, part of Al Capone on Alcatraz series, won the 2005 Newbery Honor citation.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Sam is a curious boy, whose mother has tucked him in for the night, yet he can't help but wonder about how and where other people and creatures sleep. As he yells for his mother to ask more questions, his toy monkeys come to life and cause a ruckus. Sam tries his best to quiet his mind and go to sleep, even doing some breathing exercises. Yet, it is only when he pulls out a bedtime story that he is able to calm himself and the monkeys and drift off to slumber. Choldenko's story is funny, if at times potentially confusing, though perfectly capturing Sam's wandering mind. The illustrations are fun, with bold movement lines indicating a chaotic and hectic bedtime frenzy, and monkeys that just won't quit. The speech bubbles between Sam and his mother come in big, comic book-style bursts, adding humor. VERDICT This lovely story about the power of books to help calm and focus would make a fun bedtime story for lots of families.-Kaitlin Connors, Virginia Beach Public Library © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Having explored shyness and insecurity in picture books like Louder, Lili and A Giant Crush, Choldenko turns her attention to a boy whose mind won't stop racing. After reading a story with Mama, it's bedtime for Sam, but when she leaves the room, a trio of monkeys spring to life; one is dressed like an organ grinder's monkey, another wears a leopard-print dress, and the third is a sock monkey. Rowdy shenanigans ensue ("They smash and bash and crash-crash-crash"), as do loud complaints from Mama. In characteristically exaggerated cartoons, Davis (Peanut Butter and Homework) has fun picturing both the rambunctiousness that Sam and the monkeys get up to and the torrent of questions that keep him awake ("Do pirates sleep with their eye patches on?"). The monkeys are basically an externalization of the jitters plaguing Sam, and Choldenko's buzzy narration itself quiets as Sam uses breathing techniques and reads to the monkeys on his way to falling asleep-self-calming techniques that many readers may find helpful themselves. Ages 3-5. Author's agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Having read the favorite bedtime story and answered the last question, Mama closes Sams door. Unfortunately, Sam and his many toy monkeys seem more awake than ever: They smash and bash and crash-crash-crash until all balls have been bounced and all trains have been trounced. Busy cartoon art full of overstimulating detail vibrates with energy, allowing readers to absorb what it might feel like to be the freckle-faced, fuzzy-haired protagonist, whose brain is buzzing. Even when Sam tries to settle down and take bedtime seriously, he is plagued by more questions (Do pirates sleep with their eye patches on?) and by the misbehavior of his toys -- those monkeys refuse to go to sleep. When Mama stops responding to his calls, he must handle the situation on his own. He leads the rowdy monkeys in deep-breathing exercises, a story, and some counting and cuddling until at last everyone -- Sam and all the monkeys -- has fallen asleep. An appended tongue-in-cheek authors note addresses Sams litany of unanswered bedtime questions. (Some pirates sleep with their eye patches on. Some do not.) A comical yet realistic look at bedtime for those who sometimes struggle with it. julie roach(c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Those monkeys just don't want to sleep!Snuggled in bed with his three stuffed monkeys, Sam asks his mother if he would have to go to sleep if he were a monkey. In answer, she tucks him in after reading him his favorite bookbut once she leaves, his stuffed monkeys come to life and want to jump around. "They smash and bash and crash-crash-crash until all balls have been bounced and all trains have been trounced." Mama warns him to get back in bed, and he does, but his mind teems with questions: "Do fish go to bed in their bathing suits?" Mama says she'll answer his questions in the morning. He tries his breathing exercises, but the monkeys turn it into a "ping-pong song" and "the French ding-dong song." Mind and monkeys still working overtime, Sam tricks the lively stuffed animals into listening to his book, and they all drift off. Choldenko's tale of bedtime bounciness reads like something a parent might make up on the spur of the moment to quiet a restless child. Imaginative, restless tots might recognize themselves in Sam, but their imaginations are probably a bit more original and outlandish than his. Even Davis' frenetic and funny watercolors can't mitigate the story's extemporaneous feel.With bedtime-story shelves bursting, this is one that can be set aside. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Sam is never sleepy at bedtime. Even after his mother reads his favorite story, kisses him good night, and closes his door, the wide-eyed boy is full of energy and questions he wants answered now. The child and his three stuffed monkeys monkey around until his mother calls out from another room, Sam Get back in bed this minute Though the monkey pals take no heed of Mama's impatience, Sam attempts to quiet them by tucking the three in and showing them how to relax by doing some deep breathing. That backfires, so Sam, at the end of his rope and growing heavy-lidded himself, figures the only way to get his pals to sleep is sharing a story with them. Readers are left with the impression that this will be déjà vu all over again tomorrow night. Humorous pen-and-ink and watercolor pictures are bright and full of action in a bedroom chock-full of toys and other paraphernalia scattered around. Buck teeth abound, on Sam, the monkeys, and even on the rabbit lamp with the carrot shade. The monkeys' antics and facial expressions add much to the bedtime tale, which may or may not put kids to sleep.--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2010 Booklist