Wild Summer Week Five: Monkeys
Spider Monkey swings by with some thoughts on how to have a groovy story time
Welcome to Week Five of our Summer Challenge, a free reading challenge all about pairing books with summer fun! If you’re new here, please jump right in! We are sharing book recommendations, discussion starters, activity ideas, and more now through August 11. Plus, we’re doing a giveaway at the end of the summer. Sign up today to be eligible to win!
These week’s guest is a real swinger! You can find him living in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. Thanks for being our special guest, Spider Monkey! Take it away!
Hey groovy guys and girls! It is my honor to swoop in and share some fun facts about my fellow Spider monkeys and my other primate relatives!
Did you know that there are over 300 different kinds of monkeys? I am a Spider Monkey. We usually weigh between 13 and 24 pounds and live in groups of 20-30 monkeys. Although sometimes our communities can be as large as 100 spider monkeys! We communicate through vocalizations such as barks, squeals, and whinnies. Can you make a monkey noise?
We live in the treetops of the rain forest canopy, and we don’t come down from the trees very often. Swinging and climbing is what we like to do the best! Everything we need to survive is up in the trees. We love to eat fruit the most, but we also eat flowers, seeds, bark, leaves, and even insects! The main threat to our existence is deforestation. That is when humans cut down the trees of our habitat and we don’t have as many leaves to eat or branches to swing on.
My primate relatives are cool, too! My ape relatives are larger than my monkey relatives. They have broader chests and longer arms. But the main difference between a monkey and an ape is that apes do not have tails. I can’t imagine life without my tail. It is like another arm to me!
If you’d like to know more about primates of all types, there are many great resources available online such as this videoclip. And be sure to visit your library for some books about monkeys and apes, and other primates, like the ones recommended below!
Read: Try one of these groovy books featuring monkeys and other primates!
Picture Books
Ninita’s Big World: The True Story of a Deaf Pygmy Marmoset by Sarah Glenn Marsh, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman. A true story about a really cute monkey! This book is told from the imagined perspective of Ninata, a pygmy marmoset that lives in the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Florida.
Quick, Little Monkey! by Sarah L. Thompson, illustrated by Lita Judge. Another book about a pygmy marmoset. Little monkey clings to her papa’s back, learning all she can about life in the tree tops. When she has a fall, she has to quickly remember everything she’s learned so that she can escape predators and make it back to safety.
Monkey by Melissa Gish. This Spotlight on Nature book is full of fascinating facts about monkeys in general, plus some specific species of monkeys. Also has some great photographs!
The Complete Adventures of Curious George by Margaret and H.A. Rey. Every little one should experience Curious George, the famous mischievous monkey (or is he an ape?), in book form!
Naughty Little Monkeys written and illustrated by Jim Aylesworth. This fun alphabet book depicts a night when the parents are away…and the monkeys get into trouble. Each monkey’s name starts with the next letter of the alphabet and has a corresponding “noun” that is incorporated into their mischief.
Fourteen Monkeys –A Rainforest Rhyme by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Steve Jensen. This book catalogues the 14 types of monkeys that all live in the Manú rainforest in Perú. It tells specific information about each type of monkey, but also has a short rhyming verse in case you want to use it as a read aloud.
Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina. This is a classic tale that has been used by teachers for many years. When a peddler takes a nap, the monkeys steal his caps. He must be clever to get them back!
Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang and illustrated by Max Lang. A monkey is grumpy even though it is a beautiful day. His friends try to cheer him up and give him suggestions of how to snap out of his grumpy mood. It turns out he simply needs time to work out his feelings.
Good Night, Gorilla! written and illustrated by Peggy Rathman. A zookeeper is bidding each animal good night on his way home and doesn’t notice when the gorilla snatches his keys. As he says, “good-night” to each creature, the gorilla unlocks all the cages. Children will delight in the ironic illustrations and want to “tell” the zookeeper what is happening.
The Farmer and the Monkey by Marla Frazee. This is a wordless picture book about a lonely farmer who takes in a lost circus monkey.
A Book of Monkeys and Other Primates by Katie Viggers. What’s the difference between a monkey and an ape? This book uses humorous speech bubbles to bring the primates to life, while sharing important information about primates and their habitats, eating habits, grooming practices, and social preferences.
Monkey With a Toolbelt by Chris Monroe. If Phineas and Ferb had a picture book about monkeys, this would be it. This ridiculously fun story features a monkey with a tool for every job–even an out of control kitchen catastrophe. This fun book includes recipes at the end.
Bad Monkey Business by Michael Hale. This funny picture book is about a monkey who shows up at an old lady’s door, and starts letting in all the animals from the zoo! Marvelous mayhem ensues, as you can probably imagine.
I Can Read Book
Mr. Monkey Takes a Hike by Jeff Mack. Mr. Monkey plays a video game. “He runs, he ducks, he climbs, he jumps…” These simple words are repeated as a bird steals Mr. Monkey’s game controller, and he must take a real adventure to get it back. Genius storytelling utilizing simple text.
Middle Grade
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Ivan is a Silverback Gorilla that lives at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade with an elephant named Stella and a stray dog named Bob. It is unique in that the text is told from Ivan’s point of view. When a new baby elephant arrives, Ivan hatches a plan that ultimately helps them move to a better zoo environment. Although it has a positive ending, this book has some sad moments and explores how animals living in captivity can be a negative thing.
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls. The last thing 14-year-old Jay Berry Lee expects to see in the Ozark trees are monkeys, but that’s exactly what he finds. When he learns circus monkeys escaped and there’s a reward for them, Jay plans to collect that reward. He and his family could use the money. This story has heart, humor, and mischief.
Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznik and David Serlin. This book has a little bit of something for everyone! It’s easy to read, like an easy reader. It has LOTS of pictures, like a picture book. And it’s in chapters, like a novel! Though the text is simple and easy to read, there is a lot to discover in the illustrations for anyone who wants to take their time with this fun book!
Note: Some links will take you to the Read, Discuss, Do bookshop.org storefront. Purchasing a book from the storefront will support independent bookstores and help maintain Read, Discuss, Do at no additional cost to you.
Discuss:
Have you ever seen a monkey or an ape at the zoo?
Where do monkeys live in the wild?
What is your favorite type of monkey?
Do you have a favorite monkey book?
What is the most interesting or surprising fact about monkeys?
If you could have a monkey as a pet, what would you name it? Where would it sleep?
Do: Try one of these monkey-inspired activities
Enjoy a banana snack like banana bread or a banana smoothie.
Go to a park and play on the monkey bars! Can you make a monkey noise while you swing and climb?
Go for a swim! Try a dog paddle like a proboscis monkey, or a cannonball like these spider monkeys.
Visit some monkeys at a nearby zoo.
Draw or paint a monkey. Here is a Pinterest board that curates some fun monkey craft ideas.
Sing and dance to some monkey tunes!
And, as always, you can download and print this week’s coloring page!
Thank you, Spider Monkey, for all these groovy ideas!
We hope you are enjoying our Wild Summer so far! If you share about your experiences with the Summer Challenge on social media, use the hashtag #RDDSummerChallenge2025 so we can see it. You can also tag us or message us on Instagram, leave a comment on this post, or reply to this email. We’d love to know about how you are pairing books with summer fun!
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