Here's my selection for the Perfect Picture Books series. Visit Susanna Leonard Hill's blog to see other selections.
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Written and illustrated by Eileen Christelow
Clarion Books, 1989. The cover ilustration for the board book has a 2004 copyright
Suitable for: Ages 3 to 6
Theme/Topic: Bedtime, Counting
Opening: It was bedtime. So five little monkeys took a bath.
Brief Synopsis: Five little monkeys get ready for bed followed by jumping and injuries. No one listens to mama or the doctor.
On the author's page about the story, she relates how she adapted "the old finger play and jump rope rhyme" Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed into this picture book. She also notes: "There are many rhymes and finger plays in the public domain that authors and illustrators adapt into picture books."
Link to resources: Author and Illustrator Eileen Christelow has a Classroom Connections page on her website. For the Five Little Monkeys series there are math, writing, compare and contrast, repetition and prediction and more exercises. There is also a page with more details about the story —where the author got the idea and other information.
Why I chose this book: It's one of the many books Enzo received for Christmas. With so many to choose from, I decided to feature this one since Enzo fell while Facetiming (video chatting) with his grandparents and "bumped his head."He's fine and jumped in my lap with this book in his hands. This is a fun story with lively illustrations.
I could spend all day at her website, too. Among her many fiction and non-fiction titles are: What Do Authors Do? and What Do Illustrators Do?
She also has an interactive feature on the website called How Do You Illustrate? It shows the tools and techniques used to illustrate her books.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sounds great! I'm appreciating good picture books more and more as my tiny wants to read the same ones over and over again. The classic "A Whistle for Willie" remains one of his favorites!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this book, Stacy! What a great choice! Thanks so much for adding it to our list :) And Eileen's website sounds like a must-see. Right after PPBs I'm going to go over and check it out. Thanks for the tip :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THIS BOOK!! It's one of our favorites! Good choice :)
ReplyDeleteThat book must be where the Wiggles got that song from. Love that story.
ReplyDelete@Jenna- A Whistle for Willie sounds fun!
ReplyDelete@Susanna and @Erik - It is a fun book.
@Catherine - We haven't went down the Wiggles path yet, but I'm familiar with them since my niece (now 10) loved them.
Thanks for those interesting links to her website, Stacey. I adore this story. I and a few friends won second place at the LA SCBWI pyjama party for representing this book!
ReplyDeleteGreat links! My kids love this one :)
ReplyDeleteAnother great pick! And that how to illustrate tool is pretty cool too!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! (I may have that rhyme going through my head for some time now...) Glad Enzo was okay when he bumped his head - and that he associated the experience with a picture book!
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad that Joanna mentioned SCBWI LA, because I immediately thought of her and the others jumping around like little monkeys at the PJ Party!
I love the monkey book! My grandsons know it word for word and they can't read yet. We read that one a lot.
ReplyDeleteHmm...I have two little twin monkeys who like nothing better than to jump on the bed while I chase them around with pajamas! Just might have to get this one!
ReplyDeleteFun book Stacy. Oh my the wiggles, now I remember them and Joanna's part at the SCBWI PJ Party. Must check out Eileen's website. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteThis story was a favorite I used with my daughter 20 years ago. She was forever jumping on the bed and fell off and cut her lip. This is a great story for kids and I'm so glad you selected it. Great activities.
ReplyDeleteThis book looks so cute! I can't believe I haven't bought it yet! It sounds darling too! Great choice :)
ReplyDeleteGreat selection!
ReplyDeleteI went to the authors web page and found her to be very prolific. I love the idea of writing about old jumprope ditties. So creative! Apparently her publishers did, too.
Thank you for this great review. :)
I loved this when I was a kid! We reinacted it... and reinacted it... and reinacted it... But strangely, never got any injuries.
ReplyDeleteI love the Five Little Monkeys books. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an adorable book! I can't believe I've never read it! I will fix that situation ASAP! I loved her website! Thank you for this review. It is a wonderful addition to the list!
ReplyDelete@Joanna-Do you have pictures of this SCBWI PJ party? Sounds like fun.
ReplyDelete@Jennifer - My kiddo likes it too.
@Coleen - Yes. She has a fun website.
@Beth - He's fine.
@Karen-It's fun when they know a book without "reading" it.
@Renee - Twins, woohoo. I'm an identical twin. We had fun, not sure about my mom.
@thepatientdreamer -There must be pictures of Joanna's SCBWI PJ Party.
@Patricia-It's a timeless story. I thought the author's point about turning public domain rhymes into stories was very interesting.
@Leigh - I've seen several of the series at my library. They are very popular.
@Clar-Yes, her website is great.
@Peggy - Glad you didn't get any injuries from jumping on the bed.
@Jennifer - thanks.
@Loni - It's a quick read with fun illustrations. Plus a great example of an author/illustrator's work.
Sounds like a fun read. I loved this song when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteNow I know why I hung onto the link to this blog post. So, so informative. And the author's website sounds stellar! Going to check it out now.
ReplyDelete@Carrie- It is.
ReplyDelete@Beth - The author's site is a fun place to spend some time.
Fun book! I've seen that cover before, but I can't remember if we read it. I had no idea about the extras you mentioned.
ReplyDelete@Shannon - A fun author's website is like those treasure boxes I remember from the dentist's office. Lots of fun choices.
ReplyDeleteStacey, there are some pictures on my FB page :)
ReplyDeleteI totally remember the rhyme. Curious to read the book now to see how she adapted it.
ReplyDelete