Monkey Time

PreS-Gr 2—Monkey is hanging out in a tree in a tropical rainforest when he is challenged to try to catch a minute. Minutes are quick, minutes are elusive, and monkey just cannot seem to catch one—until 59 minutes have sped past Monkey and finally he is able to capture one! Hooray for Monkey! What will he do with a minute? What are you able to do with a minute? As a tool for teaching about time, the book makes it clear that a clock face is divided into five minute intervals. Although there are no numbers present, the illustrations are designed to encourage counting by fives or tens. Created in collage style, the shapes of the animals and scenery are bold and easily identifiable, and the bird's-eye view of the tree graphically represents the clock face. The minutes are represented by small yellow dots with legs illustrating how quick and spunky they can be. Other rainforest animals appear, and the author provides a wonderful appendix teaching facts about habitat and behaviors. Also found in the back matter is a table that explains how time is measured.