Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten

Monkey #1

by Marc Brown

Kindergarten is only a week away . . . but Monkey is NOT ready. What if he gets on the wrong bus? What if they don’t have any red crayons? What if he doesn’t like the snacks? What if he doesn’t make new friends? There are so many thoughts running through Monkey’s head!  But step by step, his family eases his worries: they get him a new backpack, help him read books about school, prepare his lunch, and make sure Monkey is excited—and ready—for the Big Day.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Animals, Childrens, Back To School, Family, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2015

About the author

Marc Tolon Brown is perhaps best known for his series of children's books about Arthur the aardvark, which was turned into an animated television show on PBS. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner, for his role on the television show inspired by his books.

He lives on Martha's Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur's Tooth.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although his parents and older brother are encouraging, young Monkey isn't sure that he is ready for Kindergarten. Beset by numerous fears - what if his teacher doesn't like him?, what if he gets on the wrong bus? - it takes quite a few positive activities, from discussing reading time at school to meeting some of his prospective classmates, to convince him to give it a chance...

From Marc Brown, the creator of the popular Arthur picture-book series about a little aardvark, which has also been turned into a television show, comes this first title in a new series about Monkey, a youngster who approaches new experiences with a little bit of trepidation. Fortunately for him, he also has a loving family that is ready to help him adjust. Recommended to anyone looking for stories about the first day of Kindergarten, and how young children might overcome their fear of that experience.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story addressing starting school worries with a nice parent solution (working through fears by gathering school supplies and simulating the experience at home).

I liked the wordless ending, especially because it's a happy one. The colored pencil and gouache illustrations are rendered in a childlike style and the text is hand-lettered in a childlike script making it a little difficult to read aloud with a group.

Though the formatting and look of the book isn't really my style, I can appreciate and would recommend this starting school book for new students. PreK-K.

[Christine Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary
Kindergarten is only a week awayabut Monkey is NOT ready. What if he gets on the wrong bus? What if they don't have any red crayons? What if he doesn't like the snacks? What if he doesn't make new friends? There are so many thoughts running through Monkey's head! But step by step, his family eases his worries: they get him a new backpack, help him read books about school, prepare his lunch, and make sure Monkey is excited-and ready-for the Big Day.

NOTE: I do not like the font!!!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is ever so slightly disturbing; the story helps though by being so warm & supportive & understanding (the end is rather anticlimatic).

[Benji Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this one. I think I'll read it to K5 on the first week of school.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations, which may be in crayon. A sweet story about trying something new despite being anxious. The mom is pregnant and the teacher goes by "Ms.," neither of which ever happened in the books I read as a tot.

[Katelynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story isn’t anything unique, but it’s still a sweet message. Plus, I love the fun crayon and collage illustrations.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mac Brown's Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten explores those pesky starting of school jitters. Brown narrates Monkey's concerns in cute crayon scrawl draped all over colorful, simple pictures. I really enjoyed this book until it's abrupt conclusion. I'm interested to see if my kinder kids also mirror my feelings that I'd like to SEE exactly how Monkey adjusted to his new school. Personally I felt like the happy last picture of smiling Monkey entering school left us hanging. Where did his nerves go? What exactly made him feel better? A kind teacher? A friend? A familiar toy? -->These things would have added depth to the story rather than what I feel is a superficial, hasty "...and he lived happily ever after!"

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADORABLE. This is a great book to add to your beginning of the year anxiety read alouds. Shares a lot with Annabelle Swift Kindergartner. The illustrations are excellent. They are all resemble crayon drawings and the text of the book is in shaky child-like handwriting. There is so much to look at on each page. Cute Cute Cute.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see a sequel about a sibling (his mom is pregnant). However I don't like the handwritten look of the font. Not legible for little ones learning to read.

[Shantala · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an okay read, I guess. But I am not sure it serves the purpose it is intended for.

I mean it covers the kids anxieties about attending school (which is good) & parent prep for getting the kid ready (which is okay). But at the end of the book, it felt like the child, who did not seem ready or convinced till the last moment is packed off to school anyway. And that was that. Nothing even on how this much anticipated / dreaded day went.

And of-course I'm not saying that kids shouldn't be sent to school until they are ready. But if this book was about getting them ready - how is just repeating their fears, and showing parental prep that seemingly has no effect on the kid - supposed to help the kid get ready for school?

I'd recommend you rather check out 'Hello School by Priscilla Burris' - it quite literally walks the anxious little ones through a typical day of school, which might allay some of their fears of the unknown.

[Shannon McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Monkey is nervous about attending kindergarten for the first time. He has so many questions and worries. His parents and brother try to assure him all will go well.

You can feel and see the anxiety of Monkey as he over thinks his first day of school. The illustrations are adorable. I had hoped as I looked up the author there was another book about Monkey. I could see another book on dealing with his mom having a new baby and him becoming a big brother since his mom is visibly pregnant and luckily there is a book along with others in the series.

At first reading this picture book the font is hard to read and hard to get use to. The font looks like a kids handwriting in red crayon. While I did not like the font very much I think it did add to Monkey’s anxiety.

Very cute characters and the series looks just as adorable. I love the face we can continue to follow Monkey growing up.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are interesting, but for a lot of the pages I didn't like how busy the backgrounds were. The story was okay. I would have like the words to be typed instead of what looked like a handwritten font. It would have been easier to read it if the text was typed and had a different font, one that was more readable. I can still read it, but it would be easier in a different font. The story itself has a good subject (the experience of moving on to kindergarten from preschool), but I would have liked the book to be longer. I feel like it abruptly ended and I would have liked to see how Monkey is at school and his thoughts and feelings about it. If my child was ending preschool and moving on to kindergarten, I would not read this book to them. I would find another one because this one was disappointing.

[Miranda Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten is perfect for any first day of school and tackles real world problems. The monkey is afraid of going to kindergarten. He is afraid of not being able to find the bathroom or make new friends. This story really focuses on all the real raw emotions the monkey is feeling about being prepared to start Kindergarten. I think this book would be particularly powerful to do on the first day of school with a kindergarten class. This would let the students know that their emotions and feelings are normal and everyone can get nervous. I think having that ideology going into the school year can help develop a positive classroom environment to start with and can build a warm classroom culture. I would definitely use this and most likely will add to my classroom library!

[Well-Read Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monkey doesn't understand why he has to go to school. He asks so many questions! These are great to go over with our children so they may have no doubts about what to expect in kindergarten. They may also be asking themselves these questions if they are scared like Monkey seemed to be in this story. Members of his family share many activities he will have to look forward to when he goes to school, so your child is sure to find something to be excited about. Mine is continuously talking about taking his "Crocky" to show and tell.
In the end, Monkey seems to love kindergarten, though that is only portrayed in pictures on the very last page.

https://wellreadmama.com/kindergarten...

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's time for little monkey to begin kindergarten, but he doesn't feel ready. Mom, Dad and even big brother try to encourage him to get excited. They buy him a new lunch box, new shoes. He repeatedly runs through the alphabet and counting to twelve. The entire family helps little monkey practice "school." But nothing helps. Finally the day is here. Monkey makes his lunch, packs his favorite book and off they all go to take him to school. When the teacher opens the door, Monkey feels ready.

A good book for worriers.

[Emma Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written from the perspective of a kindergarten monkey who is getting ready for kindergarten. The book wasn't only from his perspective, but the whole book (pictures/words/layout) looked like it was created by a young child.

Lexile:
Guided Reading:
Trait: Presentation

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Cute story about a monkey who is nervous for his first day of kindergarten, with practical things that he does to help feel more ready. However, the handwritten font is not great for kids who are learning to read.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten couldn't quite keep Oliver's attention yet at 20 months old. It's obviously meant to ease a 3/4/5 year olds fear about first beginning school so we will try again when he's a little older.

[Valetta Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

With endearing illustrations, a simple, childish text depicting a little monkey's fears and ideas about kindergarten, and a happy ending, this book is a lovely, quick read to help prepare your little "monkey." Mine started today!

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great (common) story about getting ready for the shift from preschool to kindergarten and all the jitters that come with that change.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

"They go to the library and find books him likes. He goes to...what's that word again? Kindergarten." --Isaac, age 4

[Jannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monkey is not ready for kindergarten, so his parents and sibling help him ease into the idea.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soft pastel illustration with childlike font.

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

so-so

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of crayon illustrations as parents and older sibling help Monkey be ready for Kindergarten. If you need more Kindergarten books this is cute.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know a little one who wasn't ready for kindergarten, this might have been a great help for her.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

First day of school jitters, a familiar phenomena to most of us whether we suffered them or a child of ours did. Brown, best known for his Arthur the Aardvark books, uses his familiar artistic style for this book but tweaks it a bit so it looks like a child's artwork. The whole book, artistically speaking, is drawn as if a child of about 5 or 6 years of age wrote it. Even the text and font look as if they were written in crayon in a child's handwriting.

 

Although Monkey attended preschool, he's nervous about kindergarten - new school, new teachers, new classmates. He wonders why he has to attend kindergarten when he already knows most of the alphabet and many numbers. And what if they serve peas for snack?, which made me laugh as the preschool I teach at does serve peas (and other vegetables and fresh fruit). :D His parents and brother talk to him about it, what to expect, and make a production of buying all new supplies for his new school year - backpack, lunch box, sneakers, etc. He even has a play date with some of his new classmates prior to school starting.

"Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten" sweetly and respectfully addresses a child's nerves about school and how his family helps him to cope. Preschoolers, kindergarteners, and even young elementary/primary school-age children will be able to relate. The ending is a bit open-ended and abrupt, I thought perhaps I'd skipped page but no, that was the actual ending. It's a positive ending though and made me smile. The book will be enjoyed by children and also offer opportunities to discuss both first day of school nerves and other situations that make them nervous.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story about all of the things a kid might be worried about before starting school, and some of the things parents and friends can do to make them feel better. The illustrations are nice, but a bit busy, and sometimes the text gets a little lost in the colors. The font looks like childlike writing and is rather large, which could be great for kids who are just starting to read for themselves.

[Cianna Walters]

I really like how this book included typical quotes a child might hear about regarding kindergarten. They seemed accurate and positive, which inevitably made monkey even more worrisome. The questions that followed were questions a child that age would be very concerned about. These questions trigger his thought process to "why do I even need to go?" which is also very relatable. Then comes the preparation for getting him ready, such as buying new sneakers and a lunch box. Now his parents prepare him in education ways instead of material. Once he begins reading the book and hearing more quotes about all the positive things he is going to experience in kindergarten, he begins to accept this idea. The day before school starts he had an opportunity to play with students who are going to be in his class, which helps ease his nerves. Even though this book was targeted for kids entering kindergarten, it is applicable to all stages of life. Originally everyone feels anxious about something they are not used to, but in the end, it turns out better than they expected, in fact, sometimes it is even really enjoyable. The illustrations were nicely done, and using a monkey instead of a kid made it more interesting, especially for kids of younger age. Appropriate for preschool and up.