Book Review: Grumpy Monkey Up All Night

When it comes to children's book series, Suzanne Lang's Grumpy Monkey books have become some of the most popular in recent years.  From the original Grumpy Monkey debut in 2018, to the recent release of the third book in the series, Grumpy Monkey Up All Night.

In the new book, Jim Panzee is getting ready for a big slumber party with his family.  He can't wait to play tons of games, eat delicious food and stay up all night long!  But as the party gets underway, Jim's mood slowly starts to sour when he doesn't get to do everything that he planned.  Nevertheless, Jim is still determined to stay up the whole night (even though his mother warned him that it would just make him grumpy).  Jim fights to stay awake, but can he make it through the night?

Grumpy Monkey Up All Night is a great companion book for others in the Grumpy Monkey series.  This hilarious sleepover story is a fun read for children 3 to 8.

Sleepovers

Perhaps the greatest point of appeal for my kindergartner was the fact that this book was about sleepovers.  For a child, it's hard to deny the appeal of staying up all night playing games.  It certainly served as a great source of motivation for the book's main character, Jim Panzee.  Even as Jim's day starts to go awry, he's still he's going to stay up all night.  The book offers a fun look into the ever-changing moods of children, especially when a lack of sleep is involved.

If you have a preschool or elementary age child with a fondness for slumber parties, they'll certainly enjoy this one.

Managing Family Relationships

While the book is very lighthearted in nature, there is an underlying theme of family and the unique relationships that exist within them.

In the beginning of the book, we see Jim's enthusiasm about a family slumber party quickly change at the realization that his younger brother will also be there. Throughout the entire story, the two struggle to get along, especially as Jim's brother begins to wreck Jim's plans for the party.

Eventually, we see Jim and his brother find some common ground in their sense of humor as they're the last two standing in the quest to stay up all night.  Although the premise of the book is mostly just to get a few laughs, it's subtle theme of managing family dynamics is also present.

As mentioned in the summary, Grumpy Monkey Up All Night is the third book in Suzanne Lang's best-selling series.  All three of these books feature lovable characters, detailed illustrations and a lot of humor.

If you're new to the book series, we strongly recommend you check out the other two books, Grumpy Monkey and Grumpy Monkey Party Time!