Grumpy Quarantine Monkeys

A Book Review of Grumpy Monkey

Grumpy Monkey
Written By: Suzanne Lang
Illustrated By: Max Lang
Published By: Random House Children's Books

Call it psychologist's intuition, but I have a hunch that we have a good number of "grumpy monkeys" swinging around our households these days. I might even guess that all of those "grumpy monkeys" are not little, but some are big, like older siblings, moms, dads, and even grandparents! I could be wrong, but just saying...

-with constant togetherness,
major changes in routine,
boredom, 
fewer emotional and social outlets,
worry about the future,
money issues, etc.,
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I would venture to guess that grumpy monkey business is now at an all-time high! In other words, it is likely that we are all going bananas! ​For that reason, I have decided to review the Grumpy Monkey book this month for all of you "grumpy monkeys" out there (well, and here too!)

Grumpy Monkey is a New York Times bestselling picture book that addresses that vague, all-the-big-feelings-at-once mood of GRUMPINESS. Jim Panzee had a day where nothing felt quite right. His jungle friends noticed his grumpiness, but Jim was in denial and insisted repeatedly, "I am not grumpy!" They pointed out his body language that showed otherwise. Marabou said, "You're all hunched," so Jim straightened his body. Lemur noticed that Jim's eyebrows were all bunched up and snake noticed a frown on Jim's face. Jim changed his body language, but the jungle friends knew that he was pretending. Even though he was trying not to look grumpy on the outside, Jim still felt grumpy on the inside. However, Jim still insisted that he was NOT grumpy.

Sound familiar? Many times we don't notice ourselves feeling or acting grumpy. Children, as well as adults, tend to deny being grumpy when its pointed out. But grumpiness not only affects ourselves, but those around us, and sometimes it's even catchy! Grumpiness is often so many feelings lumped together into one that it is difficult to recognize in ourselves and even more difficult to pinpoint the cause.

The animals couldn't understand why Jim was grumpy because it was such a beautiful day. The jungle friends tried to cheer him up, suggesting a mountain of ideas, but Jim didn't feel like doing anything. All of their suggestions were things that made his friends feel happy, but not Jim, especially not on this day. The efforts of his friends became increasingly annoying and Jim reached his limit. Finally, his mood escalated further and he went BANANAS, screamed at the top of his lungs, "I AM NOT GRUMPY!" and  stormed off.

After feeling bad for yelling at his friends and noticing that his friend, Norman, had become grumpy too, Jim finally accepted that he was grumpy. Accepting that feeling for himself, and his friends acknowledging his feeling, when he was ready, was all he really needed to start to feel a little better. 

In this book, Suzanne Lang promotes social-emotional learning by showing children the importance of reading other's body language. Another important emotional lesson is that sometimes cheering up is not what we need. Sometimes, we just need to feel grumpy and for that to be okay. Accepting your own and acknowledging other's feelings, when they are ready, can go a long way in being able to sit with your feelings and start to feel better. 

The illustrator, Max Lang, does a beautiful job portraying the distinct facial expressions and body language of Jim and his jungle friends. The illustrations are vivid and fun, adding to the enjoyment of the story. 

Suzanne and Max Lang have created a series of Grumpy Monkey books that are equally enjoyable. Check them out at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/222967/suzanne-lang.

Below I have an activity suggestion to go along with the book!

Activity Idea for Grumpy Monkey

We are going to make a Grumpy Monkey mask, so your child can hold it up when he/she is feeling grumpy and doesn't want to be bothered. They may even lend it to you, or other members of the family, when they notice you are having a grumpy day. Maybe it will help lighten the mood!

Materials Needed: 
-printed copy of monkey face from this link https://www.firstpalette.com/pdf/monkeymask.pdf
-black marker
-scissors
-crayons
-glue
-tape
-paper plate
-craft stick or straw

Directions:
1. Print out copy of monkey face through link above




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2. Cut out monkey face





3. Turn monkey face upside down, trace details of face with only the outline, the nose and the ear details with black marker (you may have to hold it against a window with sunlight to see the lines)

4. Using the book cover as a reference, draw a GRUMPY face on your monkey. Talk about what makes him look grumpy
(bunched eyebrow, scrunched eyes, frown)


5. Color the monkey face





6. Turn the paper plate upside down and glue on monkey face










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7. Cut out the eyes
(Adult may need to use smaller, sharper scissors or X-acto knife for this)

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8. Glue or tape stick or straw onto the other side of paper plate






9. Finished project! Hello there Grumpy Monkey!!

10. -Talk to the child about the last time they felt grumpy, when they have noticed you, or someone in the family, feeling grumpy, and how they could tell the other person was grumpy.

-Talk about body language, as well as, actions.

-Then ask, what do you think was making you or the other person feel grumpy? 
Have you noticed it more during this pandemic? Why do you think?