BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - NOT RECOMMENDED
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
The five naughty monkeys go trick-or-treating with their babysitter. One by one, they quietly trade costumes with kids they meet along their route, so that by the time they are ready to go home, the babysitter has five other kids in tow instead of her own charges. All ten kids think this is a hilarious trick.
In actuality, this is an awful trick to play on someone, with many possible repercussions, and it is not something to be encouraged. How will the other kids' parents feel when they realize their children have disappeared? How will one babysitter -- with authority over only five of the kids -- keep all ten kids safe in the dark on a crowded sidewalk when they don't even know everyone? What happens to the five little monkeys when the babysitter takes what she thinks are the original kids back home and leaves the monkeys behind? Yes, this book is supposed to be fun and not taken seriously, but it does give children an idea that could cause serious safety issues; kids who are young enough to enjoy the humor of the book will likely be tempted to try something similar, while kids who know better will likely be too old to truly enjoy the story.
Sydney G., Library Media Specialist
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