Review – Grumpy Monkey

Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang, Max Lang (illustrator)
on 2020
Genres: Picture Book
Format: Hardcover
Source: Personal book collection

Jim Panzee wakes up feeling grumpy. He’s not sure why and he’d really prefer to not talk about it, but his well-meaning friends just won’t let him be. Jim assures them he isn’t grumpy but they don’t believe him. They explain why he shouldn’t be (“it’s such a beautiful day”) and make suggestions for how he can improve his mood (hugs, dancing, sunshine, laughter), but that just makes him feel worse. What does Jim need to help lighten his mood?

Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang, illustrated by Max Lang (Scholastic Australia, 2020) offers a great perspective on negative emotions and how we deal with them. Jim’s friends are all enthusiastic in offering their support, but their focus is convincing him he should be feeling something positive or helping him to change his mood, rather than giving him space to simply feel what he is feeling and work through the emotion.

The story is simply told with engaging illustrations of a variety of jungle animals in addition to one very expressive monkey. The story is suitable for preschool and early school-aged children. Jim’s growing frustration is evident in the illustrations and the text and the pace of the story builds as his grumpiness increases.

Grumpy Monkey can simply be read as an entertaining picture book, or used as a springboard for discussing emotions – how we all sometimes have days when we feel flat and a bit grumpy, about how acting happy and carefree to make others feel better doesn’t necessarily change how we feel inside, and about how sitting quietly with our emotions, alone or with a good friend, can help us work through things. It could also be used to start conversations about friendship, and I do like the many suggestions for activities that can help us feel positive and relaxed (if that’s what we want or need).

I think we’ve all had days when we feel like Jim looks on the cover of this book and I appreciate that this book shows children that there is space in our lives for days that aren’t filled with sunshine and sparkles and rainbows.