Monkey Tales

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Although these three stories have come from different parts of the
world, they are united by the common theme of monkeys. The first tale is
an Eastern European story about a hat peddler who nearly loses his
entire inventory after he foolishly tries to take a nap under a tree
populated by 50 mischievous monkeys. The second tale is a variation on
the Uncle Remus Tar Baby story; this version concerns an old woman who
decides to teach a large aggressive monkey a lesson about greed. The
third tale, from Indonesia, is about a dog and a cat who allow a monkey
to intervene in their quarrel over a crab dinner.

Besides their monkey motif, all three tales are united by the unique
prose style of Laurel Dee Gugler. Gugler laces her narrative with
rhyming couplets, intricate wordplays, and intriguing sounds. Because
her prose demands to be read aloud, Monkey Tales will undoubtedly appeal
to the pre-reader set. Vlasta van Kampen’s illustrations draw young
eyes like magnets; each page buzzes with riotous color, slapstick body
language, and comical details. Highly recommended.