Monkey Time

Both simple and complex and always with humor: a worthy addition to the telling-time shelf. (Picture book. 4-8)

Copyright 2019 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

Hall (Little i) playfully juggles the ideas of tracking time and counting in a book that also introduces tropical rainforest animals, seen on the periphery of the pages and described in a concluding note. Hall's trademark collages of painted and cut paper art magnify the quirky conceptual story, portraying angular Monkey at the center of a clock face, his hand chasing minutes (which resemble smiley face emojis with legs, one in a hat) around the perimeter, one minute at a time, until 60 of them appear. The feisty, fast-moving minute characters narrate the spontaneous text, challenging the "slowpoke" marsupial to chase them around the clock while taunting, "I bet you can't catch a minute, Monkey!" When Monkey at last snags the final minute of the hour, the others must dissuade him from a peculiar impulse--eating it--before, in a wry visual pun, the minutes fly away. Monkey's arms don't work in the same way that two hands do on an actual clock, which may confound kids interpreting the timepiece motif literally. But a high-level introduction of temporal considerations, not true time telling, is the book's focus, and whimsy and humor--epitomized by the exuberant minutes--take center stage. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 2--Monkey is hanging out in a tree in a tropical rainforest when he is challenged to try to catch a minute. Minutes are quick, minutes are elusive, and monkey just cannot seem to catch one--until 59 minutes have sped past Monkey and finally he is able to capture one! Hooray for Monkey! What will he do with a minute? What are you able to do with a minute? As a tool for teaching about time, the book makes it clear that a clock face is divided into five minute intervals. Although there are no numbers present, the illustrations are designed to encourage counting by fives or tens. Created in collage style, the shapes of the animals and scenery are bold and easily identifiable, and the bird's-eye view of the tree graphically represents the clock face. The minutes are represented by small yellow dots with legs illustrating how quick and spunky they can be. Other rainforest animals appear, and the author provides a wonderful appendix teaching facts about habitat and behaviors. Also found in the back matter is a table that explains how time is measured. VERDICT A fun informational picture book introducing time to the very young; a good choice for most shelves.--Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE