“Monkey with a Tool Belt” by Chris Monroe
Move over, Curious George. There’s a new monkey in town. His name is Chico Bon Bon, he is a Monkey with a Tool Belt, and he is AWESOME.
Here is Chico Bon Bon. He is a monkey. Chico is a monkey with a tool belt. He is quite handy with tools. He builds and fixes all sorts of things.
The list and illustration of Chico’s belt is impressively detailed and hilarious. There are rhymes and riffs, with real and imaginary tools. We get to know Chico a little, then something happens:
One day, Chico noticed a banana split on a tiny table across the road from his house.
“That’s peculiar”
He went over to investigate.
What transpires is a simply written and cleverly drawn adventure story. Chico is a smart protagonist; kids and parents alike will cheer for him. In the sequel, Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem, Chico is bothered by mysterious sounds in his house, and frustrated:
But Chico couldn’t use his tool to FIX the noisy problem, because he couldn’t FIND the noisy problem.
The reveal is priceless. My 3 and 6yo boys and I burst out laughing. Monroe’s simple text, funny stories, and distinctive line drawings in bright color have made these new family favorites.
January 17th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
My boys have graduated from picture books, and I am so sad b/c I’m missing out on the latest crop. Enjoy!