Grumpy Monkey

May 1, 2018

PreS-K-Monkey Jim Panzee (the different-species name isn't explained) is feeling a bit off, and the other animals can tell. He says he's not grumpy, but they insist that he is, and everyone has an opinion on how to feel better, advice that will teach readers about animal characteristics along the way. "You should sing with us!," say the birds. "You should roll with us!," say the zebras. The peacocks suggest a stroll. It's not until Jim's friend Norman the gorilla empathizes and the buddies settle into the doldrums together that Jim can finally relax. They concur that "It's a wonderful day to be grumpy." Max Lang's bright watercolors of animals doing their thing are winning accompaniments to the narrative's welcome message that it's OK to be down sometimes. VERDICT A welcome companion to Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. A solid choice for picture book and SEL collections.-Henrietta Verma, Credo Reference, Jackson Heights, NY

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March 1, 2018
It's a wonderful day in the jungle, so why's Jim Panzee so grumpy?When Jim woke up, nothing was right: "The sun was too bright, the sky was too blue, and bananas were too sweet." Norman the gorilla asks Jim why he's so grumpy, and Jim insists he's not. They meet Marabou, to whom Norman confides that Jim's grumpy. When Jim denies it again, Marabou points out that Jim's shoulders are hunched; Jim stands up. When they meet Lemur, Lemur points out Jim's bunchy eyebrows; Jim unbunches them. When he trips over Snake, Snake points out Jim's frown...so Jim puts on a grimacelike smile. Everyone has suggestions to brighten his mood: dancing, singing, swinging, swimming...but Jim doesn't feel like any of that. He gets so fed up, he yells at his animal friends and stomps off...then he feels sad about yelling. He and Norman (who regrets dancing with that porcupine) finally just have a sit and decide it's a wonderful day to be grumpy--which, of course, makes them both feel a little better. Suzanne Lang's encouragement to sit with your emotions (thus allowing them to pass) is nearly Buddhist in its take, and it will be great bibliotherapy for the crabby, cranky, and cross. Oscar-nominated animator Max Lang's cartoony illustrations lighten the mood without making light of Jim's mood; Jim has comically long arms, and his facial expressions are quite funny.Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp's an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his journey. (Picture book. 4-8)

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June 4, 2018
A monkey learns to ride out a wave of emotion in this reassuring picture book about feelings from the creators of Families, Families, Families! After Jim Panzee wakes up on the wrong side of the tree, nothing seems right: “The sun was too bright, the sky was too blue, and the bananas were too sweet.” His neighbor Norman suggests that he may just be grumpy, though Jim insists that’s not the problem. On a walk through the jungle, everyone he meets offers advice for changing his mood: “‘You should sing with us!’/... ‘You should lie in the grass!’/... ‘You should take a bath!’” When he’s had his fill of cheery recommendations, he storms off. It’s not until he re-encounters Norman, who’s now nursing an injury, that Jim realizes they will both “probably feel better soon enough,” and that he just needs to be grumpy for a while. Lang nimbly creates an animal cast with expressive cartoonish eyes and exaggerated facial expressions, which make their antics in the playful text all the more humorous. Ages 4–8.