Count the Monkeys

by Mac Barnett, Kevin Cornell (Illustrator)

Kids will giggle as they count all the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages. Full of fun reader interactions and keeps readers guessing until the very last page! Matching Mac Barnett's brilliant wit are Kevin Cornell's luminous illustrations, which will have young readers begging to count the monkeys all over again.

Genres: Picture Books, Counting, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Humor, Mathematics

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2013

About the author

Born to non-farmers in a California farming community, Mac Barnett now lives near San Francisco. He's on the board of directors of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center for students in Los Angeles, and he founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that just begs to be read aloud, it is so funny and interactive. And I think the more kids the merrier, I can just imagine the giggles spreading, the glances exchanged! ;-) It is silly, good fun and I quite enjoyed it.

[Fiona Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I thought this book was so creative and engaging for the reader. Each page had an interactive activity that the reader could do that was in keeping with the story. For instance, on the page where there were grizzly bears, it instructed readers to bang pots together to scare them away.

This book incorporated aspects of patterning, addition, and subtraction. Very helpful for the primary grades, namely kindergarten.

I loved how throughout the whole book, the reader is trying to count the monkeys. However with each page there are other animals and people that get in the way of seeing the monkeys. In the end, the reader doesn’t actually get to count the monkeys, yet, they have still counted all the other distracting characters that came into the story. Idk if that makes sense.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best read aloud book of the year! Lots of laughs!

[Behi · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کتاب ها بمونه به یادگار برای من آینده که همین الان ساعت دو صبح سی و یکم آگوست متوجه شد یک سپتامبر داره میره مصاحبه و از زور استرس خوابش نمی‌بره و هرچقدر بخواد بازم نمیتونه زندگی رو بزنه جلو ببینه ادامه اش چی میشه پس فقط باید صبر داشته باشه و و این وسط با کتاب های بچگانه سن صفر:| خودش رو آروم کنه





امیدوارم من آینده برگرده و این رو ببینه و جای بهتری باشه...

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrator invites the young reader to count the monkeys in this amusing one-to-ten book, but the opportunity never materializes, as a variety of other animals usurp their place. From the '1 King Cobra' who scares away the monkeys in the first place, to the '2 Mongooses' who chase away the cobra, each group of animals supplants the last, until finally the reader is on the last page. Fortunately (or not), there are some monkeys cavorting on the rear end-paper, so despite the claims in the text, all is not lost...

An amusing text by Mac Barnett, author of such humorous picture-books as Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem , with plenty of narrative asides and observations, as well as instructions to the reader about various actions they should take in relation to the book, makes Count the Monkeys more than your standard numbers/counting title. There's quite a bit of interactive fun to be had here, and I would imagine that this would make an excellent story-hour selection. The colorful artwork by Kevin Cornell adds to the sense of humor, and the fun. Recommended to anyone looking for counting books that are a little bit different, or for children's stories with an interactive element, in which children are prompted to respond, both physically and verbally, to the text.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous!! A hilarious twist to your typical counting book. Wonderful illustrations. Humor abounds, begging for me to do this in preschool storytime. I am a definite fan of Mac Barnett's books.

2/19/14 Perfect for "That's Crazy" theme. I used it to end off, with "5 Little Monkeys" as lead-in song and a Monkey worksheet. I think because the crowd got a little bigger they weren't able to see the details as much. But they still got the humor. The kids didn't pick up that what I was asking them was part of the book, but the adults did and they loved that.

9/29/14-10/2/14: I had this as an option during the Morningside school visits that I did this week. I read it in classes covering grades K-4. Very well received, thought the 2nd grade class seemed the least to get it. Odd that.

12/7/16: Closer in preschool "Silliness" theme. One girl was an avid monkey lover, and looked forward to this book the entire storytime. So we sang 5 Little Monkeys beforehand to prep. And they ADORED it. So many laughs. Loved getting involved. And their smiles when I showed the end papers. I love this book.

4/10/17 Used in Movement storytime. They really liked it.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

As readers prepare to count the monkeys, other animals on various pages have apparently scared them off. What's a reader to do? Why, count the number of other animals on each page, of course. The text and illustrations invite enthusiastic reader response, for instance, readers are cautioned to move slowly when they turn the page so they can slip past the king cobra on the first page. Along the way to ten, readers will encounter seven wolves, nine lumberjacks, but not one single, solitary monkey. Apparently, they've all fled to the endpapers. I enjoyed laughing along with this counting book and the clever concept behind it.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those picture books for ages 4-7 that will have them interacting with the reader and giggling their way through he pages. We never really get to counting monkeys in Let's Count the Monkeys because the book is hijacked by king cobras, mongooses (or is it mongeese?)crocodiles, bears and plenty of other zany folks including lumber jacks. Along the way you'll be helping the reader by waving your arms, yelling, turning pages and generally becoming part of the story. What a great book to play WITH while you read.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun and interactive book for preschool storytime.

[Mim_farahani · Rating 4 out of 5]

مک بارنت اینجوریه که نه ازش خوشم میاد، نه میتونم کتاب‌هاش رو نخونم.
این کتابش به نسبت بقیه کتاب‌هاش ساده‌تر و سر راست‌تر بود.
از اون کتاب‌های تعاملیه که شمارش رو هم به بچه‌ها یاد میده. خوبه. برا بچه‌م بخونم.

[Jackielyn Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously one of the best interactive books we’ve read. My two kids enjoyed it so much that my SK son made me read it over 3 times in one night 😅🥵. It even made my 15 month old baby laugh so hard too!

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good counting book. Silly. But I like me a fourth wall break. Just slightly more repetitive than I'd like. A somewhat expected twist at the end. But overdone enough to still make me laugh. Definitely not your typical counting book. 4.5 of 5

[Chuck Knudsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute spin on the traditional counting books, with the monkeys never actually showing up until the very end.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breaks the fourth wall in hilarious fashion. Had my niece cracking up as she read it to me.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s funny 😅!!

[Ginnie]

3 year old was all ready to count some monkeys. This book kept her involved but she wasn't satisfied when no monkeys showed. She did acknowledge that it's funny.

[Erth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great rainy day fun. Count the monkeys...look out for the snake!

[Bettendorf Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reader is invited to count the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages. - Abbigail

[Graham Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars from my 9-year-old daughter. Another cool, imaginative book from a guy who knows how to have fun with children.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read aloud to a toddler

[Zeynab · Rating 4 out of 5]

مک بارنت چقدر عجیبه

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie's Picks: COUNT THE MONKEYS by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornell, ill., Disney Hyperion, June 2013, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-4231-6065-6

"Hey, kids! Time to count the monkeys! It's fun. It's easy. All you have to do is turn the page...and COUNT THE MONKEYS"

Houston, we've got a problem. Where the heck did all the monkeys go???

"I don't know why
You should want to hide"
-- Lennon/McCartney, "You Won't See Me"

Err...I thought that this book was supposed to be about monkeys. But something has seriously gone wrong here.

"YIKES! 1 KING COBRA has scared off all the monkeys. Turn the page very slowly, very carefully so he doesn't notice us."

"LOOK! 2 MONGOOSES have chased away that cobra! Or is that 2 MONGEESE? I am pretty sure it is 2 MONGOOSES. Let's vote. Raise your hand if you think it's mongooses. Now raise your hand if you think it's mongeese. Interesting. Turn the page--I bet the monkeys will come back."

School librarians? You'd best warn your principal before attempting reading this book to any classes. Same goes for you preschool teachers who'd better warn your director. That's because COUNT THE MONKEYS is the audience participation book of the year, and it might get a little bit noisy in there.

By time we get to the 8 LUMBERJACKS--after counting the crocodiles, grizzly bears, bee swarms, sweet old beekeepers, and wolves ("Wolves and grandmas never get along!") who have each, in turn, scared one another off, and after following the story narrator's directions that steadily work their way up to banging pans together and high-fiving each other--the audience will be screaming at those lumberjacks to SCRAM!!!

And you REALLY don’t want to know what happens when the page turns bring us to numbers 9 and 10 in this crazy romp-of-a-tale. But this is one that--despite the apparent lack of monkeys (Where DID those monkeys go???)--will no doubt result in loud calls for repeat performances.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...

[Nicole Clear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I watched a video on youtube of the author, Mac Barnett, reading this book to a group of children. He shows what a bit of enthusiasm and imagination can do to change the way a book is read and interacted with.

From the outset it seems like nothing more than a book helping children to count to ten, but the author manages to grab their attention with great acting and dramatics which gets them excited for the turn of the page. So not only to the children begin to recognise the first ten numbers in the correct order, but it does so in a way they probably don’t even know that they are doing it. Thinking that we will immediately encounter the monkeys is also an underestimation of the author’s intention, as the book takes the children on an adventure through the jungle. It not only gives opportunity for counting, but also gives a chance for the children to become the animals in the book and act them out as the story develops.

There are plenty more opportunities for learning and fun within this book and would recommend that you watch the author himself read Count the Monkeys in the way he intended: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSfw7U...

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly paced, with well-judged invitations for participation (nothing too extreme, nothing you can't do sitting down together on a couch or in storytime) that also make sense with the story (quietly turn the page away from the cobra; whistle and smile so the bees don't think you're afraid). Awesome body and facial expressions on the characters.

I love how it starts off with a pretty strong connection from page to page (monkeys-cobra-mongooses) then page by page its grip on reality becomes a little more tenuous. In terms of tone and voice it reminds me a lot of An Undone Fairy Tale (high praise, in our house). And I especially love the understanding and respect for the young audience that DID put the monkeys SOMEWHERE in the book. (Big kids would get the joke if there weren't any monkeys...little kids need that payoff and resolution.)

Read it just for fun to my 12yo, then she requested that we read it the next night too...I think this one is going to have true all-ages appeal.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear, every book Mac Barnett writes doubles as a lesson plan. (Think about Chloe and the Lion, Battle Bunny, and Extra Yarn for JUST ONE SECOND.) On the first page of this book, a frightful cobra has scared off all the monkeys. After turning the page ("very slowly, very carefully"), two mongoose have scared off the snake, but still there are no monkeys.

Absolutely, positively, you can use this framework to make a book with any group of children. Felt board, white board, writing workshop pages - pick the animals as a group or let everyone come up with their own. Don't forget to react - everyone knows you bang pots and pans at bears, but how do you get rid of lumberjacks?

THAT'S RIGHT. YOU SUMMON THE RHINOS.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a humorous counting tale that reminds me of Musk Ox Counts. The narrative is short and the illustrations are hilarious - it's a good book to read with children of all ages. We enjoyed reading this book together.

This book was selected as one of the books for the August 2014 - Counting discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[High Plains Library District · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have found another favorite picture book author!

I watched Mac Barnett's TED talk ("why a good book is a secret door") and was so impressed that I had to find some of his books to read.

Count the Monkeys is a very fun & silly book, GREAT humor and illustrations. It is interactive, giving the child something to do before he/she turns every page. ("cover your eyes while you turn the page" etc.) And don’t forget, you and the child get to count things!

Clever and colorful. If you (or your kid) enjoy Jon Scieszka, then you'll like Mac.

~ Victoria

[Julee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This interactive book was so much fun to use as a library read aloud with preschoolers and Kinder kids. It is the type of book that has them excitedly sharing their version of Count the Monkeys with their families. The secret is to pretend, you as the reader, have not seen the last page of the book where the monkeys finally turn up. It is hysterically funny and a must have in a library collection.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading this we had to do some research. What do we really know about mongooses... mongeese? Since we no longer have access to a decent research resource, we used National Geographic for kids and learned that we have them at our zoo - who knew that our Meerkats were mongooses-geese... I could just google how to pluralize mongoose when ironically this is a book about counting monkeys. Or is it?

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids will have an uproarious good time counting all the monkeys throughout the pages of this book. But wait a minute... Where are all the monkeys?

This book is a must for every Kindergarten teacher and must be read aloud with great gusto. Expect kids to cause a ruckus. That's just the way this book was written. :)