Book Review: 100 Hungry Monkeys! by Masayuki Sebe

100 Hungry Monkeys! by Masayuki Sebe is a picturebook that offers numbers, counting, and more. One hundred monkeys are hunting for food, but something else is hungry, too! Can the monkeys find their food without becoming lunch? Additional seek and find activities are on each page to encourage readers to slow down and study the whole picture, not just the words.

100 Hungry Monkeys! is a colorful and interactive book that could capture the attention of most readers for far longer than it would take to merely read the text. The story itself is cute and well done. 100 monkeys are hungry and search for food, find food as well as someone else that is big and hungry, a fun twist for the ending. However, it is hidden joys in each of the 100 pages that really sold this book for me. Some of the monkeys on each page always have something to say, and there are seek and find activities on each page, like finding a certain number of monkeys with orange hats. Once the main story is over there are further seek and find clues for readers to go back and find through out the book. My son is a big fan of this type of activity, and the book is a big hit with him.

I highly recommend 100 Hungry Monkeys! for readers that enjoy interactive books, and books that you can find something new in every time you pick it up. The story and illustrations are bright, fun, and colorful and can capture the interest and imagination of even the most reluctant readers.