The Monkey with a Bright Blue Bottom

Product Information

Nick Schon was born in London and now lives in Luton with his wife, three children and five lazy cats. Steve is the author of Smelly Peter the Great Pea Eater (Winner of the Sheffield Children's Book Award 2009) and The Lamb Who Came for Dinner (Shortlisted for the Red House Children's Book Award and read by Meatloaf on CITV's Bookaboo). Children will very probably already know that zebras have stripes, and giraffes a sort of square pattern, but will they have heard of a spectacled bear? The challenge for conservation now in Congo is to intervene before losses become definitive," say John and Terese Hart, who led the investigation team, in tinned quotes.

Monkey gets bored with all of the animals being such boring colours, especially as he admires the parrots with their vibrant plumage. It's a fun story, but to be on the safe side I'd keep it as a display book for storytime, not as one to read alound (though it would be good for that for a family or group who are alright with the butt talk).

I love the ideas behind them like how the monkey got a fright after painting the Leopard yellow and jumps, splashing black drops from the paint box onto him. A long time ago, at the dawn of the world, a mischievous monkey admires the brightly-colored birds around him and wonders why the rest of the animals look so drab in comparison. When the animals wake up they're not all entirely pleased about their new outfits, so they take revenge on monkey by painting his face and rear end in red and blue so he looks ridiculous.

When the mischievous monkey discovers a paintbox, he has a brilliant idea, but things don't go quite as Monkey has planned . It is comparable in extent to the buttocks and genital patch displayed in adult male mandrills ( Mandrillus sphinx). The fast-paced rhyme scheme make it a joy to read aloud and the brightly coloured illustrations are fantastic fun.I liked the illustration style and the creative story which is sure to have children designing their own animal coats and patterns. So, there you have it – in the blue butt monkey vs red butt monkey scenario, you decide on the winner.