Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

by Eileen Christelow

As soon as they say good night to Mama, the five little monkeys start to jump on their bed. But trouble lies ahead as, one by one, they fall off and hurt themselves.

This book helps teach your child how to count up and down from five through the monkeys' boisterous bedtime fun. The pictures depict five adorable little monkeys and their mama against solid white backgrounds, but when the monkeys are in their room alone and jumping on the bed, the pages fill with color. The story rhymes and repeats while counting down the monkeys.

Your little one can identify with the monkeys preferring to play than go to sleep. However, a lesson is to be learned, as the little monkeys fall and hurt their heads one-by-one when they don't listen to mama and the doctor's warning to stop bouncing on the bed. You can also practice counting with your child by pausing to count the monkeys left of the bed after each page turn; the number of monkeys on the bed goes down, while the number of injured monkeys in the chair goes up. If your child is not ready or willing to count, they can still interact with the book by holding it in their lap and turning the board pages, or answering your questions about each page by pointing.

My 18 month old friend Dano likes to watch the pictures while I read. He will point to the monkeys and I count out loud. I am sure to stress the point that jumping on the bed is not a good idea by changing "monkey" to "Dano" whenever the repeated line comes, "No more Danos jumping on the bed!" He smiles when he hears his name and points to the bed.

--Audra