Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett (review)

Counting the monkeys seems like a simple enough task. The project goes awry right from the start in this counting book, however: one king cobra has scared the monkeys off the page. Then two mongooses ("Or is that 2 mongeese?") chase the cobra away, and things only continue to go downhill from there, with nary a monkey in sight along the way. With an escalating series of silly characters to count—including swarms of bees, grandma beekeepers, and lumberjacks who just won't scram—Barnett guides his audience through the jungle to try to regain control of the story. After ten polka-dotted rhinoceroses with bagpipes and bad breath, though, we're out of pages, and there are zero monkeys in this book. Although audiences never get to count the monkeys, Barnett's adventure is a complete hoot in its absurdity, and, with its predictable structure but unpredictable content, it begs to be read aloud. The text is prescriptive, giving a suggested course of action before turning each page ("Give each lumberjack a high five and then turn the page"), helping novice storytime leaders engage their audiences, while the numeral and name of the countable elements are set off in big red print accessible to young count-o-philes. The acrylic illustrations set the boldly colored characters—cartoonishly drawn with softly painterly outlines—against muted jungle scenery. They also match the tone of the book, with even scary creatures like crocodiles sporting winsome grins, top hats, canes, and vests. This romp would work well as a base for a rainforest-themed storytime, but it might be even more fun paired with other books that run a standard script slantwise, like Kelly Bingham's Z Is for Moose (BCCB 4/12).