Amazon.com Chimp and Zee are a pair of impish banana-mongering monkeys who can't seem to keep themselves from monkeying around. One day they accompany "Mumkey" into Jungletown to shop for more bananas. In spite of their mother's warnings， the feisty twins promptly find themselves on a bigger adventure than they ever intended--one could almost say elephantine in proportion. Catherine and Laurence Anholt have collaborated on more than 60 picture books， including Sophie and the New Baby， What Makes Me Happy?， and What I Like. Catherine Anholt's unusual illustrations， created by pasting cut-out pencil， ink， and watercolor images on colored paper， along with the hand-printed look of the type and the subject matter of the story-—are all faintly reminiscent of another jungle story: Jean De Brunhoff's The Story of Babar. Young readers will enjoy perusing the busy illustrations of Jungletown and picking out the three gray stones that turn out to be something quite different. Parents of simian-savvy children should prepare themselves to explain why these obviously tailed monkeys are named "Chimp and Zee，" when they aren't chimpanzees! (Monkeys have tails; chimps don't.) Topsy-turvy taxonomy aside， this bright， oversized picture book is a fun， kid-tested read-aloud. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter From Publishers Weekly The creators of Sophie and the New Baby and Harry's Home offer a decidedly old-fashioned but surely toddler-pleasing tale with this oversize volume starring two mischievous monkey siblings. After their mother， Mumkey， discovers her little ones hiding in her banana basket， having devoured its contents， she takes them to town to shop for a new supply. Mumkey cautions them not to "monkey around" and the two respond with a chorus that echoes throughout the story: " `Ha， ha， ha!' says Chimp. `Hee， hee， hee!' says Zee." While their mother shops， the monkeys climb back into the banana basket， perched atop a large gray stone. The "stone" turns out to be an elephant， which transports the wee ones into "the deepest， darkest part of Jungletown." Predictably， fate intervenes: the elephant inadvertently drops the basket into the river and it "gently floats away，" eventually reaching the siblings' riverside tree house. Rendered in pencil， ink and watercolor and then pasted onto colored paper of vivid hues， the buoyant illustrations complement the lilting if at times lurching narrative. Wee ones will cheerfully chime in as Chimp and Zee repeat their giggly refrain. Ages 2-6. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews