The Monkey and the Crocodile

by Paul Galdone

WR edition, Three very small dots to lower edge, otherwide great tight and clean condition.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, India, Asia, Fiction, Folklore

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Paul Galdone (1907 - November 7, 1986) was a children's literature author and illustrator. He was born in Budapest and he emigrated to the United States in 1921. He studied art at the Art Student's League and New York School for Industrial Design. He served for the US Army during world War II.

He illustrated nearly all of Eve Titus' books including the Basil of Baker Street series which was translated to the screen in the animated Disney film, The Great Mouse Detective.

Galdone and Titus were nominated for Caldecott Medals for Anatole (1957) and Anatole and the Cat (1958). The titles were later named Caldecott Honor books in 1971.

He died of a heart attack in Nyack, New York. He was posthumously awarded the 1996 Kerlan Award for his contribution to children's literature. His retellings of classic tales like "The Little Red Hen" or "Three Billy Goats Gruff" have become staples.

Reviews

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.During the Memoria Press Classical Core Curriculum for Second Grade one of the read aloud book choices is The Monkey and the Crocodile by Paul Galdone. Discussion questions and enrichment materials for this book are included in the Memoria Press Enrichment Guide for Second Grade. I love the Memoria Press Enrichment Guides!! They make a great mini unit study. Week four is on this vintage picture book and other recommended reads include Let's Read and Find Out In the Rainforest, Amazing Animals: Monkeys, The Cat in the Hat Learning Library: Safari, So Good! We also went ahead and watched the Magic School Bus episode on the rainforest, where the kids go on a cocoa pods mystery hunt on disc 6 of the Magic School Bus DVD Collection as well. And, as per currently fascination, my six-year-old daughter AppleBlossom filled me in on all the details about the Magic Tree House book Afternoon on the Amazon and how a mango was the prize object.

Having the topic of monkeys living in a mango tree and truly enjoying the ripe fruit brought back the story she had read before and it was neat to be able to contrast that experience as we read about the monkey and his not so neighborly friend, the crocodile. We have been reading the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling and thus we are not new to animal morality tales, but it was interesting to talk about the foundation of Jataka Tales from India.

The Monkey and the Crocodile in our copy is an old picture book. Unlike our other Paul Galdone books gracing our shelves, which are all square little hardcover books of folk tales (Three Little Kittens, The Little Red Hen, and so on...) This one is ~ 8x11" and has seen lots of use from little readers over the last 46 years! It is also available as a paperback, also from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books. I purchased our copy used from a favorite website, ThriftBooks.com (use the link on Creative Madness Mama for 15% off your first order!).

We have gone on to talk about preparation and what we would do if a crocodile was trying to eat us...

What would you do?


This review was originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread this one today to complement our ancient India history lesson. The 7 year old LOVED it -- the story and the illustrations.

[Liam Clisham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son really enjoyed this book. Made him laugh when the monkey plays his tricks.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Repeatedly, the crocodile tries to catch the monkey and eat him. Every time, the clever monkey escapes.

What about this story is a mystery to me?

The subtitle calls this "A Jataka Tale from India." What is a Jataka Tale?

According to Wikipedia, these are tales about previous incarnations of the Buddha. Basically, "the future Buddha may appear as a king, an outcast, a deva, an animal—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates."

Funny, the main talent of this monkey is his cunning.

When you think about Gautama Buddha, what are some of the virtues that come to mind? His compassion? His wisdom?

Because this monkey is all about the virtue of cunning.

In my life, I've seen many statues of the Laughing Buddha. But never the Cleverly Winking Buddha.

ALL THAT SAID, THE STORIES ARE ENTERTAINING

FIVE STARS worth, says this Goodreaders. Enjoy!

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before posting my review I wanted to go looking for some background information about this tale as it felt a little stilted to me in this telling. Every other re-telling of this story I can find includes the monkey and the crocodile becoming friends and the crocodiles wife becoming jealous and demanding the heart of the monkey. None of this is present in this retelling. I won't be recommending this version of this tale.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to many kindergarten and young five classes this week and they were all spellbound. I liked that they made a connection to The Gingerbread Boy at the beginning of the story when the crocodile offers to take the monkey on his back to the island.

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why this folktale is still in print; it's an entertaining story about a monkey who outwits a hungry crocodile. If you're looking for something new to read aloud to your children or students, give this one a try.

[Libby Burak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book, I would read this allowed to my student. It is about a friend betraying someone and the other friend outsmarting the other and at the end of the book they are friends but are aware of the betrayal, this could be used to teach kids about betrayal.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best line from Monkey: "I shall be on the watch for you just the same." And so my appreciation of my nickname "Monkey" has just increased.

[Adrianne Rosal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our librarian at school read this one to us today and I really enjoyed it!!

[Amy Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Paul Galdone's stories and illustrations. Our favorite book of his is Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night. This one's good, too.

[Mel Beags · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever Monkey

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

AR ?

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

a perfectly acceptable, but in no way outstanding, version of the tale

[AnnieM · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a little long, but it’s an ok message.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good story, it had a decent pace and did not have too much description. The illustrations were simple and yet detailed. A cute story

[Brigette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful in teaching Proverbs from blog: https://redeemedreader.com/2013/04/tr...

[Ann Haefele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m never disappointed with Paul Galdone’s retellings of folktales. He’s my “go to “ when I want an easy version of a folktale to read to my grandchildren.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I got this book from the library, but it was cute. I liked the pictures and the outcome. Although I was kind of hoping for a friendship and instead the author went with reality.

[R. L. Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story with a hilarious style of teaching morals XD

[Kristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun story. Nothing special and not my favorite fable (or jataka) but my 2nd grader really enjoyed it.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Year 2 did enjoy the story and the message

[Phillip Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An oldie but goodie about a intellectual battle between a crocodile and a monkey.

[L.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art gets a five; story a three.

[Laurie Trout]

RL 3.5
Lexile: 625
Fountas & Pinnell: O

In this tale the young crocodile is sure he is smarter than the monkey. He would really like to eat the monkey, but since the monkey does not go in the water, the crocodile has to make a plan. He studies the monkey's habits and comes up with a plan. The rest of the story is about who is more cunning, the monkey or the crocodile.

Classroom Use:
Studying: The crocodile knew what he wanted but had to study the monkey's habits for days to come up with a plan.

Writing Traits:
Conventions: The use of quotation marks is throughout this tale. It is particularly helpful for students to see that thinking to oneself is also talking.
Ideas: The crocodile is sure he is the most cunning animal. He doesn't give up till the end when he realizes that the monkey is even more cunning.
Voice: You can almost hear the low voice of the crocodile as you read the story. The illustrations help to show the crocodile's mood throughout the story.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have heard this story told orally but this was the first time I've read it. The first thing I noticed was how colorful the pictures were considering the book was published in 1969. Many books from that time did have color, of course, but many seem washed out to me. These illustrations are more vivid than most from that time and still hold up well today. The monkeys and the crocodiles are slightly cartoonish but accurate - a perfect mix for this story - and the child I read this to mentioned the pictures as a highlight. This book has a great deal of action and mental games that children find attractive. The crocodile has a good plan to capture and eat one of the monkeys for dinner, but the monkey that he chose proves to be an even more clever adversary. Adults and children will be satisfied by this classic Indian folktale.

[Jenna Applegate]

The Monkey and the Crocodile is a good fable to teach kids that you don't have to be the biggest and strongest to win. The Crocodile's wife told the crocodile that he had to get the monkey's heart because she wanted to eat it since it was the sweetest in the land. the crocodile told the monkey that he would take the monkey to the other side of the island so that he could try all the other sweet fruits. As the crocodile is swimming over the island he tries to drown the monkey to take his heart. The monkey told the crocodile that he didn't have his heart with him and that it was back up in the tree. The crocodile then took the monkey back to the tree, but the monkey told the crocodile, after he was safe in his tree, that the heart was with him the whole time.

[Andrea Flory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for grades k-2. It can show students to never give up because you thought the monkey would get eaten but he out smarted the crocodile, so it can teach kids to persevere. The genre is Modern fantasy.

[Alissa Gazaryants · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustration wise I thought it was pretty neat. I thought the cover was a bit misleading in a way because I thought the two characters would become friends. To me I felt like the two went from enemies to rivals. It started off with the crocodile wanting to eat the monkey, but at the end the two ended up having a neutral relationship rather than a wholesome friendship which I had initially thought would happen.

[Cara Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute and simple, yet valuable, story with expressive illustrations of watercolor and ink. The images really help to propel you forward through the story. The colors are vibrant and the characters expressive and clever, this book would appeal to early-elementary students as well as preschool. Themes: caution, awareness of those around you/their motivations