MONKEY SUIT: An A to Z of What You Can Be by Mark Gonyea

- September 03, 2015

MONKEY SUIT: An A to Z of What You Can Be by Mark Gonyea is a board book that kids and adults will pore over again and again. While I could have happily enjoyed a book filled with monkeys illustrated by Gonyea without the ABC concept, the alphabetical listing of professions that Gonyea comes up with is creatively out-of-the-ordinary that I gleefully anticipated every page turn. And it's just really funny to see a monkey dressed up in 26 different outfits. This is definitely a board book worth buying!

MONKEY SUIT: An A to Z of What You Can Be is brought to us by POW!, in independent publisher dedicated to creating "visually driven, imagination-fueled" books that combine an "offbeat or humorous sensibility with outstanding design that delights children and grown-ups equally." MONKEY SUIT: An A to Z of What You Can Be fulfills this promise page after page.

And you don't have to have any idea that a tuxedo is often called a monkey suit to get a kick out of MONKEY SUIT: An A to Z of What You Can Be. Standouts include "E" for Elf, "I" for Illustrator (yes!) "L" for Lumberjack and "O" for Optometrist. I also really enjoyed the Genie, Ninja, Viking and X-Ray Technician. Gonyea gets especially creative at the end of the alphabet with "Y" where a white page features an outline of the monkey who has been trying out jobs on every page and the words, "What do YOU want to be?"

MONKEY SUIT: An A to Z of What You Can Be entertains and engages and I can't wait to get my hands on Mark Gonyea's other books. While researching for this review, I discovered Mark's Etsy shop where I ordered up a Cryptozoology poster! After reading The Yeti Files: Meet the Bigfeet last year, my students and I are very interested in cryptids...