Monkey Time - by Michael Hall (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Can you catch a minute? A monkey chases a minute in the rainforest in this clever, funny, and informational story about the concept of time from Michael Hall, the New York Times-bestselling and acclaimed author of Red: A Crayon's Story. An excellent choice to share during homeschooling. It's a fun way to learn basic concepts of telling time.

Monkey Time stars a silly monkey and sixty minutes, and it is perfect for fans of Mo Willems's Waiting Is Not Easy! and anyone learning about how time passes. Look for surprises in the pictures on every page!

Meet monkey. Monkey is very curious about the brightly colored--and very tasty-looking--minutes on the minute tree in his forest. But can he catch one before it disappears?

Playful, educational, and entertaining, this brightly illustrated book reinforces simple counting skills while introducing children to basic concepts about time, how time passes, and how time is measured. With illustrations full of engaging animals and a call-and-response text, and loads of rhythm, repetition, and humor, this is a great choice for family and story-time sharing.

Includes three pages of facts reinforcing the math concepts and describing the rainforest friends introduced in the story.

From the Back Cover

It takes time to spin a web.

It takes time to climb a tree.

It takes time to hatch from an egg.

It takes time to eat a meal.

It takes time to bloom.

Monkey is trying to catch time.

Up, down, and all around Monkey goes.

Can Monkey catch a minute?

Can you?

Review Quotes

"A simple treatise on time for very young children as well as a counting book. . . .Hall's trademark painted and cut-paper illustrations in bright green, blue, red, and yellow with brown monkey in the center are striking. . . .This entertaining story will reinforce counting skills while teaching youngsters a bit about time." - ALA Booklist (starred review)

"What are you able to do with a minute? . . .A fun informational picture book introducing time to the very young." - School Library Journal

"Hall playfully juggles the ideas of tracking time and counting in a book that also introduces tropical rainforest animals. . . .a high-level introduction of temporal considerations. . . is the book's focus, and whimsy and humor--epitomized by the exuberant minutes--take center stage." - Publishers Weekly

Round and round his clocklike tree, Monkey chases minutes in this tale about telling time. Monkey slumbers away as orange, fruitlike balls happily march up his tree. When the first awakes him, their 60-minute game begins. Twelve branches create the tree-clock's face, with Monkey in the middle. As the cheerful balls--embodied minutes--run the canopy's circumference, Monkey's arm sweeps clockwise, attempting to catch each cheeky sphere. After an hour, the minutes fly away--and 60 new merry minutes begin the game afresh. Colored or painted papers cut out and arranged to make forms create a style reminiscent of Eric Carle's. But while Carle's handmade collages mirror the natural, organic lessons of his text, Hall's digital collage is used to teach precision and time--an apt match of technique and content. As always, Hall uses design to great effect, and the simple style allows readers to focus on the growing narrative of the accumulation of minutes. Playful, number-chart endpages and rhythmic, repetitive lines for reading aloud ("Chase me over. / Chase me down. / Chase me all the way around") complete the fun. Both simple and complex and always with humor: a worthy addition to the telling-time shelf. (Picture book. 4-8)