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The Purple Kangaroo
The monkey narrator in this humorous picture book gaurantees that he can READ YOUR MIND. What begins as a simple request to imagine the most spectacular thing in history turns into the story of a roller-skating, bubble-blowing purple kangaroo searching for his dear friend Ernesto on the moon. So by the time you finish this book, there's no chance you will be thinking of anything BUT the purple kangaroo.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published December 29, 2009
About the author
Michael Ian Black
32 books430 followersMichael Ian Black is a popular comedian who began his career with "The State," a sketch comedy troupe he co-founded at New York University in 1988, which went on to have a successful run on MTV. He then co-created the Comedy Central television series "Viva Variety," a fake European variety show.
From there, he appeared on several television shows before landing the role of Phil Stubbs, the quirky bowling alley manager on NBC's "Ed," which ran for almost four seasons. His next project was "Stella," a television show he co-created with Michael Showalter and David Wain, which ran on Comedy Central. Black has appeared in several films and is a popular contributor to VH1's "I Love the..." series.
In 2005, he wrote and directed his first film, "Wedding Daze," which starred Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher. His screenplay "Run Fat Boy Run," starring Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton, came out in 2007. Black is also a stand-up comedian, who regularly tours the country. His first album of stand-up comedy, "I Am a Wonderful Man," was released in 2007, and his first book of humorous essays, My Custom Van (and 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face) came out in 2008. His first children's book, Chicken Cheeks was released in January, 2009. His latest project is "Michael and Michael Have Issues," a comedy series premiering in July 2009 on Comedy Central. Black is married and has two children.
From there, he appeared on several television shows before landing the role of Phil Stubbs, the quirky bowling alley manager on NBC's "Ed," which ran for almost four seasons. His next project was "Stella," a television show he co-created with Michael Showalter and David Wain, which ran on Comedy Central. Black has appeared in several films and is a popular contributor to VH1's "I Love the..." series.
In 2005, he wrote and directed his first film, "Wedding Daze," which starred Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher. His screenplay "Run Fat Boy Run," starring Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton, came out in 2007. Black is also a stand-up comedian, who regularly tours the country. His first album of stand-up comedy, "I Am a Wonderful Man," was released in 2007, and his first book of humorous essays, My Custom Van (and 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face) came out in 2008. His first children's book, Chicken Cheeks was released in January, 2009. His latest project is "Michael and Michael Have Issues," a comedy series premiering in July 2009 on Comedy Central. Black is married and has two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
March 19, 2018
I've read this book three times and the monkey has still yet to predict that I'm thinking of a turtle named frank who loves string and tries to play with it like a kitten but can't because he's too slow even though all his kitten friends bought him a jetpack, but neglected to buy fuel for the jetpack so it just weighs him down, thus making it even harder to play with the string.
I'll give it another go, though.
I'll give it another go, though.
March 9, 2020
Can the monkey in the book really read your mind? Should Donovan have recorded the title as a song? Love the art!
April 3, 2019
The monkey narrator of this amusing meta-fictional picture-book opens with the claim that he is a mind-reader, proceeding to invite the reader/listener to think of something, that he will in turn divine through his special power. That thing is, of course, a purple kangaroo. A purple kangaroo in search of his chichilla best friend Señor Ernesto de Pantalones...
The narrative of The Purple Kangaroo only becomes more involved after that, in a series of wildly imaginative and humorous developments that will keep young readers entertained, just as the colorful artwork from Peter Brown, created using acrylic and graphite, will keep them involved visually. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books with a silly sense of humor, or who is a fan of Peter Brown's artwork.
The narrative of The Purple Kangaroo only becomes more involved after that, in a series of wildly imaginative and humorous developments that will keep young readers entertained, just as the colorful artwork from Peter Brown, created using acrylic and graphite, will keep them involved visually. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books with a silly sense of humor, or who is a fan of Peter Brown's artwork.
April 24, 2015
A. loved it.
February 9, 2010
Join in a silly romp of a book because you are invited by a mind-reading monkey. He can read YOUR mind. Close your eyes and think of something. Then say it out loud and look into the monkey’s eyes. Did you think of a purple kangaroo? No? Well monkey bets he can figure out what you’re thinking about next!
This book is pure fun. Black’s writing is done in text bubbles, carrying the story forward at a fast pace. The monkey is funny, irreverent and the story he tells about the purple kangaroo is so off-the-wall. Brown’s illustrations add to the fun. Who could ever forget the picture of the purple kangaroo blowing an enormous rainbow bubble-gum bubble out of his nose? The humor will work for slightly older children than most picture books, making this the ideal book to take on a school visit to second and third graders.
Guaranteed to get classes laughing, this is one to share that is sure to delight. Appropriate for ages 5-9.
This book is pure fun. Black’s writing is done in text bubbles, carrying the story forward at a fast pace. The monkey is funny, irreverent and the story he tells about the purple kangaroo is so off-the-wall. Brown’s illustrations add to the fun. Who could ever forget the picture of the purple kangaroo blowing an enormous rainbow bubble-gum bubble out of his nose? The humor will work for slightly older children than most picture books, making this the ideal book to take on a school visit to second and third graders.
Guaranteed to get classes laughing, this is one to share that is sure to delight. Appropriate for ages 5-9.
June 20, 2015
Oh. My. Gosh. I love Michael Ian Black like whoa so when I found out he was writing children's books... and he had one where the ever fabulous Peter Brown did the illustrations... match made in literary heaven for me! I am baffled this book does not have a straight up overall 5 star rating! Incredibly silly and fun with fantastic illustrations! I laughed so hard at the large spread of the monkey with the hypnotizing eyes. I love the monkey's facial expressions, especially when he has an "eyebrow" raised. Oh lord, this book is fantastic! It MUST be added to my own personal collection.
June 1, 2015
First, I thought it was kind of fun that the author and illustrator's names are colors and this is a PURPLE kangaroo. Totally not an important fact...but they did capitalize on that a bit & it is fun. Love this book. It has a fun gimmick..and awesome illustrations. The monkey is sure he can read your mind... And then tries to prove it to you, the reader. As soon as I finished, my 6 year old asked me to check and see if they have written more books about the monkey or the kangaroo...or even just more books by the same pair. So clearly she liked it. I predicted the gimmick/ending almost immediately but that didn't lessen the fun.
December 8, 2011
My 2-1/2 year old loves this book. The monkey is essentially telling a joke about a purple kangaroo. It's a silly story, but silly is what kids love. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that it's not one of those "I can read it every night and it doesn't get old books." My husband and I get tired of reading this over and over. Plus, the illustration of the monkey's eyes being hypnotizing scares my son a little.
But overall, nice book. We'll be returning this back to the library and purchasing it to add to our library.
But overall, nice book. We'll be returning this back to the library and purchasing it to add to our library.
December 31, 2013
Two of my favorite Children's Book authors, Comedian Michael Ian Black, and Peter Brown take on this story of a hilarious and sneaky little mind-reading monkey. He knows just what you're thinking about. In fact, there's a full two-page spread of his huge eyes staring into yours just so he can extract the truth! Voila! You're thinking about a Purple Kangaroo who is on the hunt for his best friend, a wild-eyed chinchilla named Senor Ernesto de Pantalones. Right?
Right.
This would be a PERFECT storytime book for the kindergarten/1st grade crowd.
Right.
This would be a PERFECT storytime book for the kindergarten/1st grade crowd.
April 10, 2014
This started out well for a preschool crowd, but I think it might be bit too much for them to process by the end? Perhaps. I'll keep it in mind and see how my group is doing. Until then, I can definitely use this at the school-age outreach storytime that I'm doing tomorrow. I think they would get the humor of it.
3/13/14 This was so perfect! The groups that I read it to loved it. Especially the nose blowing part.
4/9/14 Tried this in colors theme for preschool. Just to see. The adults definitely loved it. Definite parts were over the kids' heads, but they really loved the pictures.
3/13/14 This was so perfect! The groups that I read it to loved it. Especially the nose blowing part.
4/9/14 Tried this in colors theme for preschool. Just to see. The adults definitely loved it. Definite parts were over the kids' heads, but they really loved the pictures.
August 24, 2010
"The illustrations for this book are rendered in acrylic paint and graphite with a wee bit of digital tweaking." The color palette in this book is delicious. It reminds me of Bubblicious bubble gum, so sugary sweet that it's grainy on your teeth and tongue. The soft pink monkey background is perfect against the saturated thought bubbles. Not to mention that the story is hilarious. Goodness, I might just have to buy this one. I love looking at it.
September 10, 2013
Though still pretty funny, this has been my least favorite of M.I.B.'s children's books so far. There's plenty of silliness, the character names are hilarious, and who doesn't like a book with a mischievous chinchilla!? But, this one is difficult to read aloud, as it's mostly just one big, long-winded question. I like the illustrations when they're not focused on the kinda creepy monkey. Again, this book was ok, but I'd recommend Chicken Cheeks, I'm Bored, or A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea!
April 15, 2016
Great read-aloud that was a big hit with the 2nd grade class that I read it to. The premise is that a monkey tells you that he can read your mind. He tells you that he's thinking of a purple kangaroo, and that makes you think of it! And of course, the fact that the purple kangaroo roller skates, juggles, and has a chinchilla friend named Senor Ernesto de Pantalones definitely contributed to the laughs.
Ages 4-8
Ages 4-8
January 28, 2010
Now I know what Evil Hate Monkey (http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagecar...) (photo by Steve Parke) did when he was but a young, not-quite-evil-more-like-an-Impish Smartass Monkey. I need to buy this book for all my friends RIGHT NOW.
(More Monkey and Trixie: http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousl...) (photos by Mike Lee)
(More Monkey and Trixie: http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousl...) (photos by Mike Lee)
December 13, 2012
Michael Ian Black is a funny funny man and he can write funny picture books. I really enjoyed Purple Kangaroo. It is smart and funny and highly entertaining. And you know what? I was thinking of a banana-juggling, roller-skating, hula-hooping, rainbow-buble-gum-nose-blowing, paisley-patterned-blimb-floating, wild-eyed-chinchilla Senor Ernesto de Pantalones-searching purple kangaroo!
September 21, 2013
This is just a fun, silly story that made me smile and laugh out loud. The way the story unfolds actually reminds me of some of the stories that the 3rd-grade boys make up during writing time -- the sillier and zanier the better! The interest level for this book is K-3, but I would stick with 2nd or 3rd grade.
Read
November 1, 2013The team of author Black and illustrator Brown offers readers a fine work of pure silliness. An engaging monkey tantalizes the reader with his "amazing magical power" as a mind reader. Monkey claims to know exactly what the reader is thinking about, and after delivering sufficient giggles to the reader, proves that he does indeed.
May 28, 2011
A really fun and creative story. Great for getting children to use their imagination. Would make a great interactive book especially to engage children under 4. The pictures are really great. Would make a great read-aloud book.
August 30, 2014
I love the combination of text and artwork in this picture book. The 'joke' is clever and complete. And I'm pretty sure even the youngest readers will 'get it'.
http://julianaleewriter.com/2014/08/2...
http://julianaleewriter.com/2014/08/2...
May 23, 2018
My daughter seemed to enjoy the pictures more than the actual story itself. I was thinking that book would be funny to observe someone reading it because it is hard not to trip over the words in this ridiculous story. Would recommend.
August 16, 2018
Super cute!
September 6, 2018
A monkey claims to be a mind reader and tricks the reader into thinking about a purple kangaroo. Cute and funny story.
October 23, 2019
Funny, crazy-silly book. Kids enjoyed it. They also really enjoyed pointing out that you can see Senor Esnesto on every page.
August 11, 2025
A rollicking read aloud! You will have the children giggling and yelling "no" at you and you will have their grown/ups laughing out loud, also! Wonderful! #colorourworld2025
p.s. I named the kangaroo Grape Jelly.
p.s. I named the kangaroo Grape Jelly.
September 25, 2018
genial
September 23, 2015
The Purple Kangaroo is written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Peter Brown. It opens on a monkey telling the reader to imagine the craziest thing they can possibly imagine, a thing nobody ever has imagined before. The monkey then proceeds to attempt reading the reader’s mind. He makes a guess as to what the reader thought of, beginning with a purple kangaroo, but then makes his guess more and more extravagant until he reveals a mind trick at the end.
While this book lacks a moral in true postmodern fashion, the postmodern elements contained within make the plot interesting regardless. The easiest element to pick up on is that the monkey directly addresses the reader throughout the story, giving commands, asking questions, and generally conversing with the reader as though in a real-life conversation. Similarly, the images show the monkey looking directly out at the reader, especially during the time the monkey tries reading the reader’s mind, which features an extreme close up double-page spread of just the monkey’s eyes swirling in a hypnotic, mind-reading fashion. The book also features references to itself as a book, acknowledging that nothing in the book is real. For instance, when telling the reader to begin imagining, the monkey says not to worry about him cheating, because he’s merely an image on the page and thus is incapable of hearing the reader and/or their thoughts. This appears again at the end when the monkey, still incredulous that his guess could be wrong, says that the reader is now thinking of all of the scenarios he described, and that if they return to the front of the book, he could read their mind again now.
The images in this book contribute to the idea that everything the monkey suggests is meant to be something thought of by the reader, because once he begins describing scenarios, everything besides the location of the monkey on the page is encased in a cloud-like border. This fluffy-looking border represents a typical thought bubble one would expect in any drawing involving thought, and the images inside it always represent the monkey’s wild guesses. The text, on the other hand, is all encased in a typical speech bubble as if projected from the monkey’s mouth. This allows a separation between the events the monkey is describing and the real-time events, because it shows that none of the characters in the thought bubbles are speaking, and all of the words belong to the monkey. The character of the monkey directly addressing the audience, the attention to literary format, and the interplay of reality and thought combine into an entertaining postmodern read.
While this book lacks a moral in true postmodern fashion, the postmodern elements contained within make the plot interesting regardless. The easiest element to pick up on is that the monkey directly addresses the reader throughout the story, giving commands, asking questions, and generally conversing with the reader as though in a real-life conversation. Similarly, the images show the monkey looking directly out at the reader, especially during the time the monkey tries reading the reader’s mind, which features an extreme close up double-page spread of just the monkey’s eyes swirling in a hypnotic, mind-reading fashion. The book also features references to itself as a book, acknowledging that nothing in the book is real. For instance, when telling the reader to begin imagining, the monkey says not to worry about him cheating, because he’s merely an image on the page and thus is incapable of hearing the reader and/or their thoughts. This appears again at the end when the monkey, still incredulous that his guess could be wrong, says that the reader is now thinking of all of the scenarios he described, and that if they return to the front of the book, he could read their mind again now.
The images in this book contribute to the idea that everything the monkey suggests is meant to be something thought of by the reader, because once he begins describing scenarios, everything besides the location of the monkey on the page is encased in a cloud-like border. This fluffy-looking border represents a typical thought bubble one would expect in any drawing involving thought, and the images inside it always represent the monkey’s wild guesses. The text, on the other hand, is all encased in a typical speech bubble as if projected from the monkey’s mouth. This allows a separation between the events the monkey is describing and the real-time events, because it shows that none of the characters in the thought bubbles are speaking, and all of the words belong to the monkey. The character of the monkey directly addressing the audience, the attention to literary format, and the interplay of reality and thought combine into an entertaining postmodern read.
May 31, 2012
Time for my Wednesday Night Working with Celeste on the Kid's Floor review of a picture book!
Last week, it was
, which happily ended much better than I anticipated.
This week, I'm treated with an adorable and cheeky monkey who claims to read minds. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
But it's still cute.
Last week, it was
, which happily ended much better than I anticipated. This week, I'm treated with an adorable and cheeky monkey who claims to read minds. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
But it's still cute.
December 17, 2010
A humorous and very strange story about a monkey who reads minds...sort of. This book came as a "prize" in a box of Cheerios. Our girls thought it was pretty funny, but it really didn't entertain me very much. I only read the English narrative, though the book was printed in both English and Spanish.
April 3, 2014
Well, for me this would be a solid four because I thought it was funny and I love anything Peter Brown puts to paper. However, it's a big ol' fail on the CC scale because the two page spread of the ape with the hypnotizing eyes caused a complete freak out- "Shut the book!!! Shut it!!"
Sad. I guess I'll be donating this to school...
Sad. I guess I'll be donating this to school...
January 26, 2012
I love this book! It was so creatively written. It lets the children imagine whatever they want in their head. It all relates back to the story. It is not a basic story of beginning, middle and end. It is fun and exciting all the way through. I would recommend this for a little change up.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews