THE MONKEY TREE

by William-Illus. Hayes ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 18, 1963

Afraid to say ""I don't know"" to an inquisitive lion, Sam, a monkey, tells one small tale and causes havoc to reign in the jungle. He claims that the only real monkeys live in the tall mimboo tree--the Monkey Tree of which, at present, Sam is the sole tenant. Word spreads from crocodile to elephant to parrot; soon anxious crowds of monkeys come swinging through the trees, and settle on the mimboo tree. After a while, Sam leaves the cramped tenement-of-a-tree, and enjoys- at first- the empty, silent jungle. But plagued by the ceaseless chanting of ""Sam is no monkey/ No monkey is Sam./ We are the only monkeys that am"", he sadly returns to the unpleasant tree, a victim of his own silly bit of misinformation. The illustrations in thin inked lines and washes of green and grey are busy and poorly placed on the pages. The extreme punishment which is Sam's, does not seem logical or justified in view of the monkey's unmalicious intent-- the supposed moral does not come across, and it is doubtful that children or monkeys will learn from the tale.

Pub Date: April 18, 1963

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1963

Categories: CHILDREN'S