Last month I reviewed Monkey Me and the Golden Monkey, the first book in a new series in the Branches line from Scholastic. Branches is “a unique line of books specifically designed for newly independent readers who are ready to make the exciting leap from leveled readers, but not quite prepared for a traditional chapter book.” The Monkey Me books are perfect for my advanced first grader — he loves the content, the format, and the illustrations, and I love his excitement when he reads the books.
In Monkey Me and the Pet Show, Clyde’s inability to contain his excitement for class pictures has some unfortunate consequences. You see, every year, someone makes a funny face that ruins the class picture, and Clyde can’t wait to see who it will be this year. It’s clear where this is headed, as when Clyde gets too excited, he turns into a monkey, having eaten a banana zapped by a special ray during a field trip to the museum.
Clyde also has to deal with Roz, the class bully, and her ferocious dog, Chopper, and when his mom sees the kids looking at the class picture on the memory card that Claudia swiped from the class photographer, he tells her the monkey is his pet. When monkey Clyde has a run-in with Roz and Chopper, Roz and Claudia agree to see whose pet is the best at the local pet show. But the pet show turns out to be a ruse for pet-nappers, and Clyde finds himself in a cage with the other animals, and once again must save the day.
As with the first book, Clyde finds himself in the middle of a caper which he can solve due to his dual nature. Monkey Clyde can do things regular Clyde can’t. And Clyde gets a little too much enjoyment out of teasing the principal, which kids will enjoy.
Monkey Me and the Pet Show is another great book in this series, loved by both the first grader and me, and we’re looking forward to book 3, due out in June.
Nancy thinks all boys are a little bit monkey. She writes about her own boys, books and life in Colorado at Life With My Boys and Books.