Monkey: Not Ready for Bedtime

Monkey #3

by Marc Brown

It’s time to go to bed . . . but Monkey is NOT ready. Acclaimed author and illustrator Marc Brown ( Arthur ) offers a fun and reassuring story about bedtime.
Every night at bedtime, it’s the same problem. . . . Monkey puts on his pajamas. He brushes his teeth. He makes sure his favorite stuffed toy is safely tucked in. He says “good night!” to Mom and Dad. But no matter what, Monkey is NOT ready to go to sleep. Finally, though, with the help of his big brother, a little imagination, and a few friendly dinosaurs, Monkey might just get ready for bed.

Praise for  Not Ready for Kindergarten

“Brown’s hand-scrawled text and childlike pencil-and-gouache artwork give the impression that he’s on Monkey’s side—and that of readers—from the very first page, creating an eminently reassuring and empathetic resource for kindergarteners-to-be.” — Publishers Weekly,  Starred review

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Dinosaurs, Animals

32 pages, Library Binding

Published September 19, 2017

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]

Timid Monkey, whose adventures began in Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten and continued in Monkey: Not Ready for the Baby , returns in this third picture-book, this time having difficulty getting to sleep. Somehow, whatever he does, he just isn't ready for bedtime. Then his older brother advises him to count something he likes, and he hits on the idea of counting dinosaurs...

Like its predecessors, Monkey: Not Ready for Bedtime addresses a common childhood experience - namely, bedtime fears and the trouble young children sometimes have getting to sleep - in an engaging, reassuring manner. Monkey's family provide him with the support and love that he needs, helping him to address the issue. Recommended to anyone looking for fun, gentle bedtime tales that offer reassurance.

[Becky]

First sentence: "It's time for bed, Monkey! Do you have your pj's on?" "Yes." "Did you brush your teeth?" "Yes." "Where is Mr. Fuzzy?" "Mr. Fuzzy is on be bed." But Monkey couldn't fall asleep.

Premise/plot: Night after night Monkey has trouble falling asleep. Can Monkey's big brother help his little brother out?

My thoughts: Monkey is the star of Marc Brown's new series. I believe this is the third book in the series. Other books include Monkey Not Ready for Baby and Monkey Not Ready for Kindergarten.

It was an okay book for me. I don't actively dislike Monkey and his family. It's more of a lack of feeling. Perhaps a lack of feeling might be called boredom. But I don't know that I care even enough to be bored by Monkey.

Since he's the star of a series, it would be nice if I could feel something toward him.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

[Rose Rosetree]

Right from the endpaper at the front of the book, I start reading the names of those dinosaurs and start laughing out loud.

Also, I very much like the style of the illustrations --distinctive, sprightly, and just a little bit funky.

The main character, Monkey, has developed stalling tactics for bedtime. These will likely seem familiar to most of us Goodreaders. My fave went, "It's too dark in my room."

That counting solution to sleeplessness is beautifully presented, and not a bad thing to teach a child. Not a bad thing at all.

[Jillian]

Not just a help-get-to-sleep book, but also bonus dinosaur info. I wish the counting had worked for me as a kid, but instead it just got me *more* awake because I was concentrating on counting things.

It's a cute book, though, and like the earlier ones - good to read aloud to a kiddo who is Not Ready for something.

[Pam]

Cute illustrations support the story about a young monkey who doesn't want to go to sleep.

[Elisabeth]

Doubles as a dinosaur book!

[Liz Todd]

Cute story. Good picture of finding a plan B for solving those little problems. Also. Marc Brown. So happy to see his name on the cover of a new book. 💕

[Jessica Nuckolls]

I wish the print was black instead of such pastel colors. It made several pages very hard to see.

[Elaine]

I imagine this book would be excellent to help young children who have trouble sleeping.

[Donna Mork]

Monkey always has trouble falling asleep until his brother teaches him a trick to counting things you like. He likes dinosaurs.

[Syntha Green]

Good story for storytime but not sure that the pictures are clear enough to read to a group

[Miss Sarah]

Monkey can't seem to fall asleep each night. What can he do? cute and simple. love big brother solves the problem. toddler and up

[Paul Graham Terpstra]

Nice book about trying to fall asleep. What helps you.
Cool illustration style

[Pinky]

Monkey finds that recounting dinosaur species helps him get to sleep.

[Angela]

If I was to have wallpaper, I think I would like Mac Brown (or Britta Teckentrup) to design it.

[Kelly]

Randomly includes dinosaurs.