MONKEY ME AND THE PET SHOW

Monkey business continues in this second installment of the Monkey Me series for transitional and early readers.

In this stand-alone sequel, Clyde recaps how he happens to turn into a monkey, which he calls his “monkey me” self, when he becomes excited. Unfortunately for Clyde (but fortunately for readers who like humorous adventure), he’s often excited. As in the first book, two dilemmas combine to drive the playful, fast-paced mischief-making that turns the boy into his primate alter ego and the traditional text into a graphic-novel format. It’s class picture day, and Clyde can’t wait to see who will carry on the custom of ruining the photo. He’s so excited that…well, readers can guess who will cause a fiasco this time. Clyde must also contend with school bully Roz and her ferocious bulldog, Chopper. Just as Clyde’s levelheaded twin sister, Claudia, devises a scheme to delete the class photo, Clyde’s monkey version has another run-in with Roz. When Claudia pretends that the monkey is her pet, Roz challenges them to compete against Chopper in the local pet show. The hijinks heighten when thieves trap the pet-show participants to sell to a circus. Leave it to Clyde to use his monkey abilities to save himself and his fellow (at least temporarily) animals. A silly story with even sillier comic-book–style illustrations for transitioning readers. (Early reader. 6-8)