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PreS-Gr 1—Selznick and Serlin take the easy reader format to new creative heights. Baby Monkey may be a baby (and a monkey) but he has a full-time job as a private eye. Baby Monkey solves five cases (one for each chapter) by looking carefully for visual clues. Full-page illustrations facing single, simple, and often repetitive sentences in an oversized typeface make this ideal for emerging readers. The sharp pacing and charming humor also make it an excellent read-aloud choice. Selznick's signature black-and-white drawings—his noir-like style here played up to full effect—invite rea...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Selznick, who won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for his 534-page picture book/novel hybrid The Invention of Hugo Cabret (rev. 3/07), here presents with coauthor and husband Serlin an almost-two-hundred-page...easy reader/film-noir homage. In five chapters, diminutive gumshoe Baby Monkey solves a series of cases ("Chapter One: The Case of the Missing Jewels!" "Chapter Two: The Case of the Missing Pizza!"). Each follows a predictable pattern, with occasional small variation: Baby Monkey is waiting in his office (think The Maltese Falcon); a client arrives; Ba...Log In or Sign Up to Read More