Grumpy Monkey (Hardcover Picture Book)

We need more deals like this on here

Great book and great deal.

who gives a shit about NYT bestselling, it's just paid advertising...

Amazon reviews seem to be polarizing. Many people love the book, saying that it helps kids sort out their feelings. But some are disappointed giving it a 1-star review. From the 1-star reviews, seems the book gives the message that being grumpy is okay, but without the follow-up lesson that one should be careful of hurting others. Others have said that the message is too subtle for toddlers to understand and the book's message can be summed up as 'I just want to be grumpy'.

After considering both the positive and negative reviews, I decided to pass on this book. My advice would be to read the reviews and decide if you think the message is appropriate for your child. Each child is different, and perhaps it might be a great lesson for your kid. It's just didn't seem like one that was apt for my kid. Of course, I haven't read the book myself so I realize I might be getting unreasonably swayed in the wrong direction; but knowing my kid, decided to err on the side of caution.

Just figured I'll warn folks to do their due diligence on reviews before jumping on the deal.

Quote from pumpkinwhite : Amazon reviews seem to be polarizing. Many people love the book, saying that it helps kids sort out their feelings. But some are disappointed giving it a 1-star review. From the 1-star reviews, seems the book gives the message that being grumpy is okay, but without the follow-up lesson that one should be careful of hurting others. Others have said that the message is too subtle for toddlers to understand and the book's message can be summed up as 'I just want to be grumpy'. After considering both the positive and negative reviews, I decided to pass on this book. My advice would be to read the reviews and decide if you think the message is appropriate for your child. Each child is different, and perhaps it might be a great lesson for your kid. It's just didn't seem like one that was apt for my kid. Of course, I haven't read the book myself so I realize I might be getting unreasonably swayed in the wrong direction; but knowing my kid, decided to err on the side of caution. Just figured I'll warn folks to do their due diligence on reviews before jumping on the deal.

I agree with you that parents should pick books that will resonate with their kid. It is always a parent's discretion to choose what they feel is best.

As far as the 1-star ratings go, I think sometimes, some parents expect books like these to totally explain everything to their kid, without parents having to facilitate any additional conversation with their child. I own the book and can say that any delta between what the book says and what a parent wishes it said can pretty easily be filled in through talking with your child.

Quote from jkloisdafoiwdaf : who gives a shit about NYT bestselling, it's just paid advertising...

Someone is a grumpy monkey

I'm Mad Monkey and I Approve This Publication!

Also known as, Curious George: The Teenage Years.

I approve of this book 😁

Quote from biff_tannen : I agree with you that parents should pick books that will resonate with their kid. It is always a parent's discretion to choose what they feel is best. As far as the 1-star ratings go, I think sometimes, some parents expect books like these to totally explain everything to their kid, without parents having to facilitate any additional conversation with their child. I own the book and can say that any delta between what the book says and what a parent wishes it said can pretty easily be filled in through talking with your child.

I think this is great advice. If you're not talking about what you're reading with the child you're missing a valuable opportunity to develop metacognition which will serve your child well throughout their lifetime. If this is something you find difficult as a parent I would suggest picking up a few books devoid of words. It can help bridge the gap by either forcing you to come up with things to say but also by allowing you to read the interests of your child and talk about their points of interest in the story.

I own the book. I think it's cute, but I wouldn't recommend it without knowing my audience. My child wants to donate it to our neighbor's "take a book leave a book" library. If you only read the words on the pages then yes, it says it's okay to be grumpy. If you talk about it with your kid you can focus on people's perceptions and how their actions shape your feelings. Or you could focus on the "fake it until you make it" process and talk about how that's good or bad and what it led to in the book. Or you could go hundreds of different directions with it because every moment in time is different. Be a good parent and talk with your kid.

funny book

Quote from biff_tannen : I agree with you that parents should pick books that will resonate with their kid. It is always a parent's discretion to choose what they feel is best. As far as the 1-star ratings go, I think sometimes, some parents expect books like these to totally explain everything to their kid, without parents having to facilitate any additional conversation with their child. I own the book and can say that any delta between what the book says and what a parent wishes it said can pretty easily be filled in through talking with your child.

You make a great point. Talking is definitely important for any children's story - especially those with a moral.

But at the same time, one cannot simply assume that the parents who weren't satisfied with this book didn't talk to their kids.

Knowing the emotional intelligence of your kid is important since every kid is in a different gradient. All kids get there eventually, but till the time one is sure, a parent shouldn't assume that talking subtle nuances of the story will always fill in gaps.

My point is - at least from the reviews, I can understand the dissatisfaction of parents who didn't like the book. There are too many books with a straightforward easy to digest message, which can be great talking tools as well. Till parents are sure it's appropriate for their kid, better to stick to those. Last thing a parent wants, despite their best efforts to talk things over, for an unruly kid to get the impression that being grumpy is okay.

Great deal on an excellent book! My son loves it because its fun and funny. I definitely think it does an excellent job at introducing the subject of emotions to your child. We reference the book in every day speech and if my son is feeling sad or grumpy - we will say "its a good day to feel grumpy" and let him feel his feelings. Rather than say something like "don't be grumpy" or "its too nice of a day to feel grumpy". I think one thing books like this do well is teach parents how to talk about emotions. Rather than just trying to make your child happy all the time - parents need to let their kids feel the full spectrum of their feelings and learn to cope with them. I think this book is for parents and kids alike.