Johnathan is a spider monkey living on top of Mount Kenomy.  Mount Kenomy is believed to be the tallest mountain in the whole wide world by Johnathan and his family, and, it is home to the largest village of spider monkeys in the world.

  As the narrative commences; Jonathan is enthusiastic since his birthday is only two days away, he will be eleven-years-old.   And eleven is when all spider monkeys in Johnathan’s village scramble to the top of their first tree.

As a matter of fact, there is even a special tree in the village that is used for a monkey’s first tree climb.  At no time in the history of the community had a monkey been too frightened to climb his first tree, nonetheless, as Jonathan stood gazing up at the tree he became very, very afraid.

 Even though Jonathan’s younger brother David tried to cheer him, Jonathan just could not get beyond his anxiety and he even became too self-conscious to play with his friends.  Many days went passed as Jonathan continued too afraid to climb and too embarrassed to play with his friends. 

One day while Jonathan was alone he heard a shout for help.  It was David.  His brother had tumbled and landed down on a ledge.  What was Jonathan to do?  

I will acknowledge, when I received this book during my first year back in the classroom after a ten-year hiatus, I did like the story line, however I did not care for the illustrations.

 Nevertheless, I did always take children’s books received for review to read to my resident critics; in this case, my first fourth grade class. 

The students take their profession as investigative listeners very seriously.  At first, the class eyed the book presentation; it gives the idea that it is a picture book intended for younger children.  As with other picture books I was reviewing at the time; the children settled down to attend to the reading of that ‘little kids’ tale’ prior to formulating a view regarding the book.

During the reading, the class became drawn into the action.  It was plain they grasped Jonathan’s dread, his discomfiture and his apprehension for his little brother. 

As I completed the narrative one student voiced, ‘I believed that this was really a little kids’ book, but then it is really meant for us!’  The other students nodded their agreement.

When questioned; the youngsters admitted that they too thought at first that they didn’t think they would actually like the story.

 The students, most of them ten or nearly ten-year-olds, too were put off with the humanizing of the spider monkeys as represented in the artworks, however during the unfolding of the tale they found themselves drawn into the action and they changed their minds regarding the narrative as little kid material.

  By the time the story concluded the class decided that the illustrations did go with the story.  And, while the chronicle is doubtless intended for younger kids, ‘it is not too young for fourth grade.’

The story line provided a dandy starting point for the class to use while discussing situations in which they too faced fear and overcame it.

I added Courage the Monkey to the class library shelf, where it became a staple during the ensuing years; one more class of fourth grade, and then back to my first teaching love of First Grade. 

  Courage the Monkey was often chosen for ‘free reading’ time, or by the student of the day to be read by teacher during the final moments of our school day as students sat on the rug winding down from the day’s activities prior to setting out for home.   Courage the Monkey was often borrowed for overnight ‘read at home’ to family.   

And, because the book was often chosen by the Fourth Graders to read to the ‘little’ kids during weekly student mentoring or used by pairs or trios for classroom reading and discussing life experiences the children have faced; I am happy to recommend Courage the Monkey for home and classroom use.

Courage the Monkey has a place on the classroom reading shelf, the home school or public school library and children’s pleasure reading list.

As a choice for gift giving Courage the Monkey is a read-to book for the 3 – 5 set, a read with help for 7 – 8s and a ‘I’ll read it to you’ for the   9 – 10 year old.

Inspiring, Motivating  Read  …   Recommended   

Reviewed first for Scribesworld

=========================

Reviewed by: Molly’s Reviews  molly martin

============================

30+ years classroom teacher

AMAZON AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Mark Jordan brings a unique writing style to his books for children. In drawing from his personal experiences as the father of two daughters, he strives to impact children's lives with inspirational stories. He holds an MBA from Baylor University and a BSBA from the University of Arkansas. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Michelle, and two daughters, Nicole and Emily.

AMAZON PRODUCT DETAILS

Title: Courage the Monkey

Genre: children’s inspirational

Author: Mark Jordan   

Paperback: 40 pages

Publisher: Decere Publishing; 1st edition (September 20, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0971701377

ISBN-13: 978-0971701373