NEW RELEASE
NEW RELEASE
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Book #2 from the Award-Winning
Monkey-House Mouse Series
COTTON-TOP TAMARIN’S MOST HAIRIFIC DAY
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BOOKLIFE
Tatchell’s most recent addition to her Endangered and Misunderstood Animals series, following “Tarsier Sings His Songs,” concerns a perfectly quaffed cotton-top tamarin who, after giving the rest of her brethren “monkey-doos,” sets out to fix the hair of everyone in the jungle. The only problem is that not everyone in the jungle wants their hair fixed—and not everyone in the jungle has hair to fix—but cotton-top tamarin doesn’t understand why other animals resist her. “It’s only that I care,” she says, determined, even after a dangerous run-in with a snake and quarrel with a tapir, but she makes the biggest mistake when she decides to style the hair of a sleeping human.
Written in rhymed quatrains, the fifth instalment in Tatchell’s series has a lyrical flow engaging for kids and adults alike, but in addition to style, the author also seamlessly fills the lines with an impressive amount of facts about the animals featured. For example, the plot centres on the cotton-top tamarin’s grooming behaviour, which is common among this species and other primates, and Tatchell also makes mention of the cotton-top tamarin’s complex language: “With thirty-eight different sounds // they chirp and squeal and squeak.” With the support of Ivan Sulima’s textured, vibrant illustrations, Tatchell’s narrative strikes a balance between effective storytelling and educational enrichment.
The charming illustrations, blending grand cartoonish expressiveness with eye-pleasing polish suggesting the best of Pixar, also maintain the animals’ anatomy and educate readers visually. Toucan’s beak jumps off the page, and finer details, like sloth’s fur, snails climbing on tree branches, and flowers blooming on almost every page, serve to depict the jungle as a home radiating with life and abundance. Children passionate about animals, and specifically endangered ones, will learn about the cotton-top tamarin and the importance of respecting differences between people, between animals, and hair-dos.
Takeaway: Delightful story of a tamarin’s vow to fix the hair of everyone in the jungle.
Comparable Titles: Justin Anderson’s Snow Leopard: Ghost of the Mountains, and Chelsea Clinton’s Don’t Let Them Disappear.
MONKEY-HOUSE MOUSE AND THE STORYTIME ZOO
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kIRKUS
Under the floorboards in a zoo’s monkey enclosure lives a mouse who earns her meals by regaling other animals with her tales and accompanying drawings. Each friend receives a personalized story (“The zebras begged for barn yard time, / with pigs and horses too. / They liked it when the cows got loose / and all the chickens flew”), but her favorite companion is a baby monkey who, like the other animals, lives vicariously through the mouse’s stories of “the world beyond the zoo.” One day, Mouse catches a cold, which causes her to lose her voice and go on hiatus from storytelling. The zoo residents understand, but they soon struggle with boredom and must invent a new tradition to fill the gap. This sweet story about the power of friendship is Tatchell’s fifth picture book and recalls such classic zoo-themed works as Philip C. Stead’s A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2010). Perko’s soft-edged full-color illustrations give characters big expressions and a clear sense of community, showing them climbing over each other or sitting together whenever possible. Tatchell’s rhyming narration, continued in Mouse’s storytelling, likewise builds a strong sense of unity.
A heartwarming tale of friendship and mutual support for young animal-lovers.
Booklife
A charming mouse entertains zoo animals with lively stories in this sweet children’s tale. Mouse, who lives under the monkey house at the zoo, has a unique talent: she’s a pro at rhyming and creates beautiful stories for the zoo’s inhabitants, complete with hand-drawn pictures and customized themes. The zebras have a soft spot for barnyard scenes (especially ones that feature cows getting loose); the lions prefer beach themes; and the rhinos crave big city excitement. Mouse humors them all, especially baby monkey, who happens to be her favorite. But when she comes down with a cold one day and suddenly can’t make a squeak, her tale-telling days seem to be over.
Tatchell (author of the Endangered and Misunderstood Animals series) hits a sweet spot with lovable animals and imaginations gone wild, and Perko’s watercolor illustrations are teeming with fun details for younger readers to discover. Mouse’s hideaway is crammed full of art supplies, and her own paintings will delight, whether it’s the barnyard scene with escaping cows or the underwear-wearing hippo standing up in waist-deep water. She even uses her art skills to let the animals know she’s lost her voice, by drawing a self-portrait with an “X” over her throat and passing it to the baby monkey. That rallies the animals immediately, and instead of sitting around moping at Mouse’s absence, they decide to take up the creative mantle and write their own stories to cheer Mouse up. As expected, their storytelling skills aren’t quite up to par with Mouse’s, but their desire to help is endearing.
The message—that stories are powerful, no matter how polished—is a vital one, and the animals learn that lesson well: after Mouse recovers, baby monkey decides that from now on every Sunday at the zoo will be “Story Day.” Tatchell passes that tradition on to young readers, too, with ideas for fans to write their own stories. Overall, this is adorable.
Takeaway: An artistic mouse teaches zoo animals the power of storytelling.
Comparable Titles: Andrew Larsen’s A Squiggly Story, Sonja Wimmer’s The Word Collector.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A— Quote Source
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