Bobby the Bold by Donna Jo Napoli and Eva Furrow

So I will be honest, the reason I chose this book was because of the cover; it is colorful, there's a lot going on in the picture, and it has a cute monkey with a mohawk. I think a lot of young kids choose a book based on the illustrations and in that case, I give this book an A.

Bobby the Bold is about Bobby, the only bonobo monkey in the zoo that is housed with all the chimps. He doesn't like it because he is smaller than the chimps and has longer hair; he feels out of place. He spends most of his time with the zookeeper making rounds to all the animals. One night Bobby escapes from the zoo and takes a bus into town. He is able to communicate with other people through sign language. He ends up at a barber shop and decides to get a mohawk. After his short trip, he goes back to the zoo where the chimps are so excited to see his new hair and even the baby chimps want a mohawk just like him. He is now the center of attention among the chimps and he finally feels like he belongs.

One of the main things I like about this book is the use of sign language. There aren't very many kids books that talk about sign language and I feel that having a book like this makes children who speak or rely on sign language feel more welcome. I think kids can relate to this book because at some point in their life, they will feel out of place like Bobby. Kids can find comfort in Bobby's troubles but also feel reassured when Bobby finally does feel like he belongs.

My only criticism for this book is that the story seems a little "choppy." It feels like the story was longer but the authors had to shorten it so they just took sentences out; it doesn't have a great flow to it. On the other hand, having a book like this may make it easier for kids to read and kids are going to find Bobby funny that they won't even notice the flow of the story. In other words, I would still read this book to my class.