Picture Book of the Day: Count the Monkeys

Picture Book of the Day:

Count the Monkeys, written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell

This book is already in the running for the funniest picture book of the year. On the title page, the narrator tells the kids that the time has come to count the monkeys! However, a flip of the page reveals not a monkey but 1 King Cobra wearing a crown and checking himself out in a mirror. We see the tails of the scared monkeys fleeing. The narrator tells the reader to turn the page very very slowly, very carefully as not to disturb this vain reptile. Do we find monkeys on the next page? No! We find 2 Mongooses (or is it Mongeese?) who have chased the King Cobra away, but no monkeys! Every spread promises monkeys on the next page, but instead we end up with posh crocodiles, gluttonous grizzly bears, and lumberjacks, oh, those lumberjacks who never ever leave. And on every spread the narrator instructs the reader how to make the monkeys appear (e.g., put your arms about your head and roar!). Barnett's interactive text begs to be read aloud, and Cornell's hilarious, joke-packed illustrations burst off the page. A delight from start to finish.