A very Cheeky Monkey Christmas by Lisa Kerr

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Five Mile Press, 2016. ISBN 9781760404086
(Age: 2-5) Recommended. Board book. Christmas. Cheeky Monkey is determined to be good so that Santa will give him his presents. But Cheeky Monkey has some problems when he tries to be helpful. He gets tangled up in the Christmas lights when he is stringing them up; he leads the Christmas band astray, destroys the gingerbread house, grabs the largest stocking and has other misadventures until finally it is time to go to bed.
This is a welcome addition to the Cheeky Monkey series that children will love. It is a sturdy board book, with a cut out Christmas star embellished with silver glitter. Cheeky Monkey has sparkly red antlers that also give out the feeling of Christmas. Each page has a short narrative and the reader must then look at the accompanying humorous illustrations to find out just what Cheeky Monkey has managed to do. The text flows along beautifully and will be lots of fun to read aloud, and the illustrations are not only very funny but contain lots of small details that children will love to find, especially the tiny mice hiding in different places. The book is worth a second visit to find all the funny things that may have been missed in the first reading. This also could provide a springboard for children to discuss Christmas rituals like putting up lights outside, baking Christmas goodies, singing carols and so on.
A truly delightful book, the irrepressible Cheeky Monkey never fails to delight the reader.
Pat Pledger

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