Where's My Monkey?

First published in Holland, where our family happens to live, this has become one of the most-loved children's books for Dutch kids. There can't be too many homes in this country without a copy. The story is quite simple. Passing through the woods, a child loses a favorite toy, a monkey. It finds its way to a family of mice living inside a tree, then to a family of hedgehogs, before briefly being in the care of a magpie. Monkey then falls into a stream where (months later) he is fished out by an old man -- a toy doctor, it so happens. He brings Monkey back to his toy hospital in the nearby village, carefully repairs him, and at last puts Monkey (looking like new) in the window, where his owner happens to see him. There is a joyful reunion. The Dutch edition (Monkie)is without text, which I prefer. The US edition has opted to include short and simple sentences. The illustrations are endlessly fascinating.

i like the book becase the monky its sad becace the monky gets hurt this is a goo book

I am so glad this book is back in print! My ten year old son can still recall the plot told in pictures in this wordless book from Holland, although we bought it for him when he was 18 months old. And so can I! A toy monkey is dropped off a bicycle in a rainstorm, and reclaimed from a wonderful doll hospital months later - but oh, the adventures it has in the months intervening! First you love the partying rats and the kindly hedgehog family, and the chilling crow who pulls out an eye. On the twentieth reading you begin to notice the seasons changing, the colors of dawn as the hedgehog family wakes up. I never tired of this book, and neither did my son. Suitable for ages 18 mos - 6, easily.

Without words, the Dutch illustrator tells a story of a favorite stuffed monkey's adventures while lost, and his happy reunion with his young owner from the window of a toy-doctor's shop. Our family loves the cast of characters: the mischevious colony of rats who use the monkey's drawers to sling a swing from the roots of their underground home; the hedgehog family who use him as a trampoline, then sleep on him; the evil magpie who pulls out his eye; the brave bumblebees who try to prevent his fall into a pond; the fisherman who retrieves him, and turns out to be a doll-doctor. This is the best kind of fantasy, "an imaginary garden with real toads in it". Many, many readings will not exhaust the interest of child or parent. Publisher, reissue this book!