Monkey See, Monkey Draw

K-Gr 3—A group of monkeys lives at the foot of the Mbuno Hills in Africa. One of their favorite games is Monkey in the Middle, played with a nut from their baobab tree. One day while they are playing with an elephant, the nut rolls into a cave. The monkeys are afraid to go after it, but the fearless elephant takes them inside to look for it. The animals are amazed to find that the cave is lined with drawings of various animals, and that each picture was formed around a hand- or footprint. When they get back outside, the monkeys dip their hands and feet in mud to make their own paintings. Although rain washes them away, Monkey See, Monkey Draw becomes one of their favorite pastimes. Beard uses his thumbprint to make the playful blue monkeys, and his pen-and-ink with watercolor drawings are swirled with color. In the center of each spread is a large black-lined rectangular box. The artwork in the box extends beyond the lines in most cases, but on some pages, the box is used as a frame for the illustration. An author's note talks about Beard's experience making hand- and footprint art. This book could be useful to teach children how to use the technique, but the expressions on the monkeys' faces may be frightening to some readers. Purchase for large art-oriented collections.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT