Book reviews : momo the monkey arrives & momo makes a mess

Suddenly, something did move. Peeking out from under the monkey’s tummy, a small pair of sad eyes looked up at the children.

“Oh, look!” said Geno. “It’s a baby monkey!” she whispered to Alid. She eased the tiny creature from under the tummy. All the children gasped.

The author Shariffa Keshavjee has two new books out, “Momo the monkey arrives : Momo the monkey Adventure series,” and  “Momo makes a mess,” a picture book that’s great for reading to children or having them read when alone or aloud in groups. Here, Shariffa  leads readers through the children’s imagination and feelings towards their new found friend and pet, The author blends the ideas of children basic instincts ,innocence and a mixture of  mischievous traits  on how to  get Momo into their home, how to care for Momo and the fun  and chaos that comes with having a monkey in the house.
Drawn with a sketchy but confident pencil line, and painted in the clear, saturated colors and pictures, the illustrations bring the children, and all their familiar exuberance, to the page. Every  scene written in the book is followed with a great pictorial that explains and build the story for young and young at heart minds , the  animation shows in the shorthand expressions of movement that are everywhere in the book.

In the house the children and Momo have fun during feeding time; the children mash a banana and scoop some of it with their fingers for Momo to lick. They laughed as Momo’s tongue

tickled their fingers. Geno gave Alid a small bowl to put milk in. Then they put a drop in his mouth. Momo swallowed and opened his mouth again, looking up for more.

Amid this happy chaos, Mum  comes back  and check if their homework is done, she hands them a bottle feeder for Momo then tells them that Momo has to leave the next day, however this does not happen, why you ask…?

 The next series of the book starts off from this note, Geno and Aldi prepare a bath for Momo that doesn’t turn out to be as planned and an angry mom asks them to clean the mess and take Momo outside where things get even messier.
At the end of each book, the author gives a useful structure to link into different areas of knowledge related with the adventures of the Momo series. The book mixes cultures and backgrounds of Nairobi, Kenya by using names of places, names for clothing’s as used by certain ethnic communities and also the variety of monkeys found within the country. This allows children to practice reading unexpected words. But worthy though these achievements are, “Momo the monkey Adventure series” is, above all, a pleasure to read and look at. Like the cheeky rascal who made a mess everywhere yet bringing smiles to Geno and Aldi, readers will be hungry for more especially now that Momo has a month to stay.