Count the Monkeys

By Mac Barnett

Illustrated by Kevin Cornell

Disney-Hyperion Books, 2013

Synopsis

An unseen narrator instructs the reader to “count” the monkeys, but on each page the monkeys have been scared off by an increasing succession, from one to ten, of invading critters (grizzly bears, bees, and wolves--to name a few). Along the way, the narrator instructs the reader to perform various actions—wave their hands, roar loudly, cover their eyes—to ward off the growing number of invaders in the attempt to count the elusive monkeys. When the reader reaches the last page, alas there are still no monkeys to count… until the turning of the last page reveals a huge gang of monkeys hiding on the book’s endsheet and flyleaf.

Hooks

Do you think there is a certain way things should always work, like how you should play a game?

Do you find that you usually know how things are going to turn out, like the end of a story? Have you ever been surprised by the end of a story?

What makes a picture book funny? Is it the words or is it the pictures that make it funny, or both? Do the words and the pictures both have to be funny?

What do you think about a picture book where the words don’t match the picture? Is it confusing or is it funny?

Have you ever read a story where the characters are saying one thing but then the story reveals something else happening?

About the Author

Mac Barnett was born August 23, 1982 in central California. He grew up obsessed with books; his favorite book as a kid was The Stupids Step Out. Barnett graduated from Pomona College, where he studied literature under David Foster Wallace. After graduating, Mac Barnett worked at McSweeney's, the publishing house founded by writer Dave Eggers. He wrote and sold Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem his first year out of college, although the book didn’t come out until four years later. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he ran 826LA, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center modeled after Eggers' 826 Valencia in San Francisco. Mac Barnett now edits "The Goods," a McSweeney's compendium of kids' games, puzzles, comics and stories created by artists and writers for newspapers across the country. His book Extra Yarn won the 2012 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the 2013 E.B. White Read Aloud Award, as well as being selected as a 2013 Caldecott Honor book. Mac Barnett lives in Oakland, California and is on a “pretty serious trivia team.”

About the Illustrator

Born in 1977, Kevin Cornell is an author/illustrator, web designer, and blogger from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife, Kim-lan Nguyen, and his dog. He describes Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes as being a big influence and is a self-proclaimed humorist. In the past he also published thesuperest.com, and for nine years, until August 2014, he was the staff illustrator for the online publication A List Apart.

Cornell makes his living illustrating books for children and adults and contributing to such notable publications as McSweeney’s Quarterly and Maisonneuve Magazine. He currently runs his own website, bearskinrug.co.uk, and is a regular contributor to birthdaystreet.com, a website he oversees with two other partners. He is described thusly on the latter: “Only a few brave souls have spotted him in the wild. Those who have, report he is remarkably polite, and has impeccably groomed fur.”

Connections

Concept/Animals

Hide and Sheep. Illus. Bill Mayer. Margaret K. McElderry Books,

2011.

Circle, Square, Moose. Illus. Paul O. Zelinsky. Greenwillow Books, 2012.

Z is for Moose. Illus. Paul O. Zelinsky.. Greenwillow Books, 2012.

A is for Musk Ox. Illus. by Matthew Myers. Roaring Brook Press, 2012.

Musk Ox Counts. Illus. by Matthew Myers. Roaring Brook Press, 2013.

Zany Zoo. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010.

Let’s Count Goats! Illus. Jan Thomas. Beach Lane Books, 2010.

Have You Seen My Dragon? Candlewick Press, 2014.

Ten Turkeys in the Road. Marshall Cavendish, 2011.

Gobble, Gobble, Crash!: a barnyard counting bash. Illus. Valeri Gorbachev. Dutton Children's Books, 2008.

Mr. Tweed’s Good Deeds. Flying Eye Books, 2014.

Monkeys

Tall. Candlewick Press, 2005.

The Monkey Goes Bananas. Illus. Peter Raymundo. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2014.

Cha-Cha Chimps. Illus. Eleanor Taylor. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006.

Two Little Monkeys. Illus. Jill Barton. Beach Lane Books, 2012.

Warning: Do Not Open This Book! Illus. Matthew Forsythe. Simon & Schsuter Books for Young Readers, 2013.

Monkey with a Tool Belt. Carolrhoda Books, 2008.

Monkey and Elephant. Illus. Gilia Bernstein. Candlewick Press, 2012.

Monkey See, Look at Me! Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012.

It’s a Book. Roaring Brook Press, 2010.

Banana! Henry Holt and Company, 2010.

Ten Naughty Little Monkeys. Illus. Suzanne Watts. HarperCollins, 2007.

Humorous/Animals

Children Make Terrible Pets. Little, Brown & Company, 2011.

One Cool Friend. Illus. David Small. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012

My Dog! Henry Holt and Company, 2014.

Weasels. Candlewick Press, 2013.

Big Chickens Fly the Coop. Illus. Henry Cole. Dutton Children’s Books, 2008.

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich. Random House Children’s Books, 2015.

Interrupting Chicken. Candlewick Press, 2010.

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? Beach Lane Books, 2011.

Here Comes the Easter Cat! Illus. Claudia Rueda. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014.

Here Comes Santa Cat. Illus. Claudia Rueda. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014.

Other Picture Books by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornell

Moustache! Illus Kevin Cornell. Disney/Hyperion Books, 2011.

Other Picture Books by Mac Barnett

Billy Twitters and His Big Blue Whale Problem. Illus. Adam Rex. Disney/Hyperion Books, 2009.

Chloe and the Lion. Illus. Adam Rex. Disney/Hyperion Books, 2012.

Extra Yarn. Illus. Jon Klassen. Balzer + Bray, 2012.

Guess Again! Illus. Rex Adam. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009.

President Taft is Stuck in the Bath. Illus. Chris Van Dusen. Candlewick Press, 2014.

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole. Illus. Jon Klassen. Candlewick Press, 2014.

Telephone. Illus. Jen Corace. Chronicle Books, 2014.

Other Picture Books by Kevin Cornell

Shark Kiss, Octopus Hug. Illus. Kevin Cornell. Balzer + Bray, 2014.

Activities

IN THE LIBRARY

Counting Bananas Rhyming Finger Play

♫ One banana, two bananas,

one, two, three. [Count to three on your fingers.]

Three bananas for me! [Point to yourself.]

Four bananas, five bananas,

four, five, six. [Count to six on your fingers.]

Six bananas for me! [Point to yourself.]

Seven, eight, nine, ten! [Count to ten on your fingers.]

Ten bananas for me! [Point to yourself.]

Eleven, twelve, thirteen. [Pretend to pick bananas from a banana tree.]

Thirteen bananas for me! [Point to yourself.]

Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. [Pretend to pick bananas from a banana tree.]

Sixteen bananas for me. [Point to yourself.]

Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty! [Pretend to pick bananas from a banana tree.]

Twenty bananas for me. [Point to yourself.]

Bananas to the left. [Put your hands together up high over your head and step to the left.]

Bananas to the right. [Put your hands together up high over your head and step to the right.]

Bananas turn around. [Put your hands together up high over your head and turn around.]

Bananas sit down. [Everyone sit down.]

Now peel your bananas and take a bite! [Pretend to peel a banana and take a big bite!] ♫