Never Smile At a Monkey

Title: Never Smile At a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember

Author: Steve Jenkins

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

http://www.hmhbooks.com/

Publication Date: 2009

Genre: Picture Book, Nonfiction

Audience: Gr. Pre K-2

Overview: This book tells a few facts about what animals you should be careful of even if they do look cute and friendly. It includes a species of monkey that view the showing of teeth as a sign of aggression. It also discusses the poisonous platypus, a threatening hippopotamus, and scary cobras, among many other creatures. The story is told with some alliteration and then at the end more extensive information about some of the animals discussed offers a lot of follow up information for children to read.

Activity: To expand what children read about in this book, everyone in the classroom could choose one of the creatures to write a report on. If each child reads the fact in the book, looks in the back of the book for additional information, and then looks at a few reliable websites online they could write up a nice little page about the animal and draw a picture as well.

Reviewer's Name: Meghan O'Leary