The Clever Monkey

by Rob Cleveland

When two greedy jungle cats discover a large piece of cheese, they can't decide how to divide it fairly. The clever monkey comes to their rescue. Or so they think. After reading this trickster tale from West Africa, you will think twice before asking a monkey for help.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Africa, Folk Tales, Cultural, Food, Mathematics

34 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2006

About the author

ROB CLEVELAND is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also an actor and comedian who can be seen in the films Drumline and That Darn Cat. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and twins.

Reviews

[Emily Rifanburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is appropriate for children anywhere from K-2 grade. It depicts two jungle cats who discover a big chunk of cheese, but can't decide how to equally share it. When a clever monkey who also loves cheese comes by, he convinces them to let him divide the cheese fairly for them. The monkey tricks the jungle cats and eats practically all of the cheese himself, without the cats even knowing that they've been tricked. This story teaches timeless lessons about greed and trust. It is clear that the jungle cats are too greedy to simply share their cheese with each other and as a result end up handing their trust over to someone they shouldn't have. The reader is encouraged to evaluate who it is they should choose to be vulnerable with and what is most valuable to them at the end of the day. I think this would be a great book to read as a class and hold a discussion on afterwards. As the teacher, I would pose questions centered around how the lessons of the story may be implemented into the children's' lives and they would have the freedom to all respond as they wish to both my questions and their classmates' answers. Another great idea for implementing this story into the classroom would be to divide the children into groups of three after reading the book together and have them perform short skits, or puppet shows, showing how they would have gone about dividing the cheese if they were in the jungle cats' and monkey's position.

[Leah Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Clever Monkey is such a fun story, perfect for kids in grades 3-5. It’s about a smart little monkey named Kanjoo who outwits two greedy jungle cats. Instead of fighting for food like they do, he uses his brains to trick them into giving it all up. This story is a funny and clever tale that shows how being smart can be just as powerful as being strong. I picked this book because it’s a fun, light read with a great message. Kanjoo’s tricks will definitely make kids laugh. It also gets them thinking about problem-solving in creative ways. Plus, folktales like this are always a great way to explore different cultures while keeping the story fun and engaging.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so good vro because issa monkey and who doesnt like monkeys and it was for a school project at this time i still havent read it yet but i know its still gon be great fool read it b4 you get your credit card cancelled amen love you guys bye bye

[Jen KD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever Monkey is a folktale from West Africa. The two cats argue over who will cut a hunk of cheese so they can share it. Rather than work it out, they trust a trickster monkey. They really should’ve compromised but their judgment is clouded by greed. I think this would be a good read aloud for elementary students. I felt that the illustrations (especially the very long eared cats) were strange.

[Csye · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story The Clever Monkey was written by, Rob Cleveland. In this story there are two cats in the jungle of West Africa. One day the two cats come across a big block of cheese. The two cats ask among themselves, who will be able to divide the cheese fairly. Then a monkey came along to help the divide the cheese. He told them he could make the cheese equal for them, the cats said yes. The monkey then split the cheese into and gave it to the cats. The cats thank the monkey, but the monkey stopped them from eating the cheese, and said that the cheese was not equal he had made a mistake. The monkey then started to divide the cheese even more, but this time he made them equal by taking bits out of the cheese. Each time he gave the cats the cheese he found something wrong with the pieces of cheese. He continued to take bites out of the cheese. One of the cats said to the monkey the piece don’t have to be exactly equal and the other cat said yes they do. The monkey continued to bite the cheese until he was full and the cheese was very small. He then gave the two cats their pieces of chesses to eat. The cats then began to argue that the other had the bigger piece. The monkey was happy, while the two cats continued to argue.

The plot of the story was based on a sequence of events in straightforward chronology order. I say this because the story just followed event after event. The conflict of the story was self verses others. This was the cats against each other and the monkey against the cats.

The appropriate age range for this book would be nursery to primary. I say this because the book is short and has few words that primary children can read. This is good for caregivers to read to nursery age because they can enjoy the book being read and also the pictures. I say this book is also the two age ranges, because you can begin to teach the concepts of sharing with other, and being fair.
The artistic elements of this book were good. The illustrations were very colorful. The pictures had very definite lines and shape to display each object and character on the page. The pictures styles of art includes impressionist art, to give the book a somewhat realists appeal with the details, the artist also used outline style to give the book a cartoon fill.

I would recommend this book to caregivers of young children. This book was entertaining and the silliness of the book also created drama. This drama made you want to read more and more. I would also say that the book has many lessons in it to teach. You can teach sharing, being fair, animals, settings, foods, and show math with the breaking of the cheeses. So I would definitely recommend this book to others to give to children to read, or to read to them.

I would give this book five stars, because it is entertaining and a book I will always remember.

[Kerri Harshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Clever Monkey, a folktale from West Africa, is an entertaining story to begin teaching children about folktales. After reading this story with your children, they can easily get into groups of three and begin retelling the story. While strengthening their ability to retell a story, the students are also getting great insight into how folktales are still around today! (they are telling the story orally just as tradition has done so for years and years). A good lesson to help teach students about why sharing is best for them!
Main Character: Monkey
Animals also pictured in the book: two cats

[Rachel Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very cute book. With vivid and colorful illustrations I can definately see chidren wanting to grab this one off the bookshelves.
It is a West African folktale that follows two jungle cats as they attempt to share a found piece of cheese, with the help of a very clever monkey.
This might be useful when discussing fables, folklore, and folk tales; as well as introducing or reinforcing the notion of "sharing" with younger children. There is some mathematics in regards to dividing things in half...but beyond simply introducing fractions and division its not that useful in mathematics.
This book may also be useful in Social Studies and Science (Animal kingdom, geography...)

[April Scheivelhud · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a clever book about a clever monkey into tricking two cats that are arguing over splitting a piece of cheese exactly right. He keeps telling them to wait while he nibbles a little bit off of each piece. Those cats aren't left with much cheese. Maybe they should have just shared. The August house website showcases this book and many others. It also has an abundant amount of lesson plans, worksheets, and activities for educators and parents.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a tale of two cats that can't figure out how to evenly divide a piece of cheese between the two of them. They are arguing and then a monkey comes to help them. The monkey's plan is to eat the cheese but disguise it as helping them. The story shows kids that it may not be important to argue over something so much that you lose out on it together.

[Alison Tripp · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fable from another country is a nice tie in with fairy tales, folk lore they are already familiar with. The moral I took is to be decisive, trust your friends, don't be greedy and never trust a monkey. This book has animals that are made up as well as cheese being in the middle of Africa so I would use caution in using it as a lesson and not just a fun tale.

[Sharia A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anytime their is a moonkey involved in a book, it is never a good idea. This book not my favorite onyl be cause the monkey is always the symbol for a male from the continent of Africa. This book is great for the message. I would not read this book because my students do not need to see monkeys involved in stories, to me.

[Sha-Quita Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A West African tale in which, two cats agrue over some cheese. A clever monkey offers to help, manages to get most of the cheese for himself. This book illustrations were colorful and first-second grade would enjoy this tale.

[Hye Eun · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two cats were greedy and kept arguing over the cheese so the clever monkey ended up eating all the cheese. It is folktale from West Africa so it is good multicultural book. I would recommend it to kindergarten and first grade. I personally didn't really like the illustration.

[Guadalupe Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading folk tales, they always have a great lesson to be taught. This book teaches readers about greed. I would use this book to talk to children about the importance of sharing and not being greedy.

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade Levels: K-2
* A read aloud story that I would use to introduce students to folktales from around the world, introducing different cultures in the classroom and making global connections; teaches a life lesson about greed

[Haley Sterritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides not only an introduction to fractions, but also teaches a lesson through the sneaky monkey. I would use this in a lower grades classroom to introduce fractions and how to divide evenly.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this folktale is very funny. The monkey really is very clever and he manages to get all of the cheese under the guise of settling a dispute. The website has some great activities.

[Linda Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about the importance of sharing.

[Chardell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this folktale story about sharing! It is a great way to show your students the importance of sharing!

[Danielle Monroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Clever Monkey is another folk tale that can help introduce a different culture.

[Heather Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a folktale from Africa. Adds diversity to library teaches students about fairness and the results of being greedy.

[Kamyshia]

a good book to introduce fractions .

[Kyle Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This colorful, beautifully illustrated book can be cleverly used to engage students in a lesson about division.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to use when discussing sharing and greed.

[Stephanie Borges Folarin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will be added to the Future Folarin Progeny library.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lesson learned. Be grateful for what you have because you may end up with little to nothing.