Review by Booklist Review
The monkeys know what their parent said: no matter what, they must not visit the mango tree, because there might be tigers down there. But maybe they could just go look at the tree. And maybe they could just get one tiny mango. And maybe they could just go back for a few more and--AHH! Tigers! This quick jungle adventure is typical Haughton, utilizing his highly digital art style, retro computer font, minimal text, and clever page-turns that function as a strong narrative tactic for reveals and building tension. The storytelling is wonderfully repetitive for anticipatory participation and lends itself beautifully to dramatization with preschoolers, who will have a blast pointing at the half-hidden tigers on the earlier spreads. The use of roughly sketched, deliberately unsophisticated and amateurishly rendered characters and landscapes created in hyper-saturated reds, hot pinks, and inkwell blues is nontraditional and somewhat disruptive, yet utterly familiar as a cornerstone of Haughton's artistic style. It's wholly original and wildly vibrant, and the monkeys are charmingly mischievous.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--Three mischievous blue monkeys are warned to stay away from the mango tree--that's where the tigers live. But their curiosity is piqued--they simply must go to the mango tree! Tigers chase the monkeys away, and they scamper back up their home tree to safety. The text is pleasingly repetitive and the illustrations provide humorous visuals to keep readers poring over the pages. "No tigers here!" the monkeys cheer, but sharp-eyed little ones will spot the striped felines lurking in the bushes. Haughton's artwork is even more bold here than in past titles. The characters have no outlines, but their colors are carefully chosen so that they stand out or blend into the environment as appropriate.The monkeys are composed of cool indigo, blue, and green tones; the tigers in shadow are purple to blend in with the magenta backdrop. When the fierce beasts emerge, the oranges and yellows clash brilliantly with the purple environment, creating a strong sense of drama during the climactic chase. An epigraph from Aristotle appears on the copyright page: "For the things we have to learn before we can do, we learn by doing." The story acts more as a celebration of curiosity than a warning about the dangers of misbehaving. In fact, when the monkeys are told about a nearby banana tree at the end of the book, they are eager for another adventure. VERDICT Worth a purchase wherever Haughton's books are popular.--Chance Lee Joyner, Haverhill P.L., MA
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A grown-up monkey heads into the jungle, leaving three small monkeys up high in a tree. "Now remember...Whatever you do, do NOT go down to the mango tree. There are tigers down there." You know what happens. Temptation beckons, and the little monkeys do exactly what they've been told not to do: "...maybe we could just look at the mangoes." Preschool audiences will love the delicious tension as looking becomes "...maybe we could just get that little one" and then "I wish we had another one..." The monkeys don't notice any danger -- but viewers undoubtedly will spy first one, then two, then three tigers partially hidden in the shadowy underbrush. The direct, all-dialogue text invites participation. "That'd be okay, right?" the monkeys ask after each ill-advised decision. Haughton's (Don't Worry, Little Crab, rev. 3/20, and others) digital illustrations, with their blocks of saturated color, are perfect for group sharing. Deep pink, magenta, purple, and blue tree silhouettes are set against a vibrant red sky; the wide-eyed blue monkeys pop off the page, focusing viewers' attention on their actions and expressions. Haughton's skilled use of color, composition, and page-turns heightens the drama. The orange tigers burst out of hiding, and an intense chase ensues ("RUN!!!") over three double-page spreads. The third spread is oriented vertically, emphasizing the monkeys' narrow escape (really narrow -- with one's foot in the open jaws of a tiger!) as they clamber back up into the canopy. By book's end it seems they've learned their lesson...or have they? Kitty Flynn September/October 2021 p.67(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Three young monkeys make mischief while their elder is away. The story, set in a jungle and introduced with an Aristotelian epigraph about learning by doing, features three small monkeys and a larger one readers will assume is a parent or caregiver. As the large monkey leaves, the young ones are told to stay on the branch on which they sit: There are tigers down by the mango trees. But these mischief-makers break the rules anyway and eventually find themselves on the ground, enjoying the fruit. Four nail-biting spreads ("RUN!!!") are devoted to their scramble to escape the tigers, one requiring a 90-degree turn as they race up a tree. The book's suspense is built with careful pacing and the repetition of particular words ("down, down, down, / to the trees below") and phrases: "Any tigers here? No! / Any tigers there? No! / No tigers anywhere!" The illustrations, rendered in Haughton's signature vividly saturated palette, feature monkeys with huge eyes, dark purple fur, blue ears, and lime green noses as well as tigers who are animated with angular lines and massive teeth. Though the ever curious monkeys are frightened by the tigers, they are tempted in the end ("maybe…") by the mention of bananas down below. The monkeys are anthropomorphized in that readers have access to their first-person inner thoughts. Human characteristics are otherwise not attributed to them, though readers wanting to move past monkey protagonists in their picture books may take a pass. An impish adventure. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
