PECULIAR PRIMATES

The team who produced Freaky, Funky Fish (2021) returns for a primer on primates.

Rhyming couplets provide rudimentary information on chimpanzees, gorillas, howler monkeys, and more. The minimal text—in a bold sans-serif font and with excellent scansion—will pull in reluctant readers and also make for a good read-aloud for the very young. The colorful artwork uses a winning combination of accurate details, sly humor, and expressive, comical facial expressions. On nearly every page, measurements, labels, and brief facts supplement the primary text. A page with the text, “One’s butt is splashed with colored streaks” will have viewers taking in the carefully diagrammed and labeled mandrill anatomy. The recto of this spread is simpler (“Some primates store food in their cheeks”), with one example each of a guenon, patas, mangabey, and macaque—each labeled accordingly—stuffing their faces with fruit. Each page includes a tongue-in-cheek “peculiarity” rating from one to 10. Unsurprisingly, the mandrill— with its side note of “male has a colorful butt to attract females”—scores a 10. Well-researched backmatter offers scientific observations and speculation about unusual appearances and behaviors, plus a few more facts about the highlighted families and about primates in general. The sole spread featuring humans depicts people with varied skin and hair types. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Yes, a barrel of monkeys!