Review by Booklist Review
Can a monkey and a robot be friends? Of course, this is a children's book! In four short chapters, Monkey and Robot watch a scary movie, play a board game, watch a cocoon turn into a moth, and play hide-and-seek. The short scenarios build on the differences of each character and underscore their friendship: Monkey is furry and silly, while Robot is metallic and adventurous. The humor is of the obvious sort, as when a squirrel and a raccoon invade Monkey's bedroom to get the sandwich that he put in the fish tank for cocoon food, and Monkey thinks the cocoon has turned into the two invading animals rather than the moth that Robot promised. The colorful cover notwithstanding, Catalanotto's black-and-white drawings are a bit flat and static. A reading step-up from the likes of Frog and Toad, though not quite as endearing. More Monkey & Robot stories are in the works.--Cummins, Julie Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
For this beginning reader, Catalanotto (Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-It-All) writes a quartet of stories about best buddies Monkey and Robot and illustrates them in pencil, using strong lines for his protagonists and soft shading for the backgrounds. It looks, at first, as though Monkey is the fragile one and Robot the guide and counsel. "I know the monster in the movie isn't real," says Monkey, in a story about handling fear. "But do you know what is really real?... That I really get really scared at monster movies." Later, though, it's Robot who has never played hide-and-seek, and Monkey who must explain the rules. The episodes don't always stay focused. In a sequence about a cocoon hatching, after Monkey puts a sandwich in a tank with the cocoon, the sandwich pieces disappear in a way that distracts from the story arc. Elsewhere, a board game sequence about winning and losing bogs down in slapstick humor. Yet the passages about the friends' strong and supportive relationship make the stories worthwhile, and good-humored silliness prevails. Ages 6-9. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-On a spread before the title page, Monkey and Robot are pictured floating in a gravity-free spaceship. In the first of four stories, Robot wants to watch a monster movie, but Monkey is scared. His friend advises him to put a blanket over his head and hum when he gets frightened. Armed with these strategies and a bowl of popcorn, he gets through the movie so well that he is ready for another. In "The Game," Monkey insists that he does not like games because he is sad if he loses and sorry for the other person if he wins. Robot convinces him that the fun is in the playing, not in the outcome; an overzealous roll of the die and frisky neighborhood dog result in a good time for all. In "The Cocoon," Robot shows Monkey a stick with a cocoon on the end. "It looks like a tiny sleeping bag," observes his interested, but clueless, friend. When Robot tells him the caterpillar will look different when it breaks out, Monkey imagines that a squirrel, then a raccoon, and finally a bear have emerged thanks to an alluring peanut butter and banana sandwich. In the last story, Monkey introduces Robot to hide-and-seek, more aptly named "hide-and-shriek." The large, generously spaced text is copiously illustrated with comical pencil-and-ink sketches. These silly tales will appeal to novice chapter-book readers.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Big-toothed, excitable Monkey and tie-wearing, sensible Robot are housemates and best friends. Four illustrated short chapters relate their tales of misunderstanding, cooperation, and friendship. Robot, though mechanical, knows about the world and is always up for an adventure; Monkey has a lot to learn; both buddies are equally likable. In the first story, Robot wants to watch a scary movie, but Monkey is too frightened; in the second, Monkey enjoys board games more than he thought he would. In the final two, Monkey learns about cocoons and hide-and-seek: he imagines the caterpillar cocoon will transform into something amazing, like an elephant or a dinosaur, and discovers that Robot's patience is limitless in playing hide-and-seek. The black-and-white pencil illustrations both reflect and extend the written stories, allowing new readers to feel secure in the face of so much text. Readers looking for funny friendship tales but who think that Frog and Toad and other early readers are a tad too easy will find this unlikely duo just right. robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A really odd couple of friends shares fun and adventure. Monkey is clueless and innocent, while Robot is endlessly kind and patient. In four stand-alone chapters, sweet, funny vignettes depict a warm, accepting friendship that transcends differences. When they watch a monster movie, Robot suggests many diversions to ease Monkey's terror, and his gentle reassurance turns the evening into a great success. A board game also causes some worries; Monkey is convinced to play just for the fun of it. Following a misconception about the singular form of the word "dice" and some antics when a dog runs off with it, the game ends in hilarity. In the final chapters, a cocoon and a game of hide-and-seek lead to more angst for Monkey and happy outcomes thanks to Robot. Catalanotto employs brief, action-filled sentences and clear, simple dialogue that is accessible to children newly comfortable with independent reading. It is formatted in large print with lots of white space and illustrated in black and white with graphite pencil and ink, complementing the text with strong visual clues and carefully conveying the characters' emotions. An odd, unnecessary preface states that the friends met at work and depicts them floating in air in a space capsule, which is probably unrecognizable to the intended audience. A fun-filled view of a warm, unlikely friendship. (Fiction. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
