MaiStoryBook Library

MaiStoryBook: Grumpy Monkey + *When I’m Grumpy…* Monkey Craft

by MaiStoryBook

Introducing a story about using your imagination to create limitless adventures ~ featured in the MaiStoryBook Library Collection:

“Grumpy Monkey” by Suzanne Lang, Illustrated by Max Lang

*~Click here to purchase your own copy of “Grumpy Monkey” to start on your own reading adventure! (This is an affiliate link~ a small percentage of your purchase will go to MaiStoryBook to help create Reading Resources for your littles)

Book Synopsis and Review

Jim the Chimpanzee isn’t feeling too great~ in fact, he’s in a pretty bad mood. But his friends can’t understand: How can Jim be so *grumpy* on such a beautiful day? Try as they might to cheer him up, Jim insists he feels *perfectly fine* and changes his body and expression to look happy on the outside, even though on the inside he’s still feeling stormy. And when all of the friendly advice becomes too much… this Grumpy Monkey has a major Meltdown! Perhaps all Jim needs is to accept his emotions and have a grumpy day.

I love a good SEL book, and this one is perfect for modeling for little learners that it’s *okay* to have grumpy days. It’s okay to not be cheerful and happy all the time. What’s important is acknowledging your feelings, and then doing what you need to do to process and embrace your emotions. Grumpy Monkey shows us just that. It’s a cautionary tale against bottling up your emotions, and a reminder that it’s okay to not be okay all of the time. The hilarious illustrations will keep littles entertained, and many of them will be able to relate to Jim’s grumpy mood. An excellent read, especially for back-to-school, to help littles manage their emotion back in the classroom.

Vocabulary

  • insisted (p. 4) to demand something, really want something, or keep doing something
  • hunched (p. 6) to curve your back and bend your shoulders forward
  • bunched (p. 8) to squeeze together, or gather together
  • stroll (p. 15) to walk slowly with no rush; relaxed walking
  • stormed (p. 22) move angrily

Themes/ Main Ideas

  • It’s Okay to not be okay. You don’t have to be happy all the time. You are allowed to feel your feelings.
  • Share how you are feeling. Say it aloud. That can help you acknowledge your feelings and begin to feel better.

Interactive Read Aloud Guide

Ask these discussion questions throughout the story to engage littles in conversation throughout the book. This book is also excellent for incorporating movement activities. Get the littles up and moving their bodies as you read along!

  • p. 1-2 : Have you ever woken up like Jim Panzee? Where nothing was right? How did you feel that day?
  • p. 3-4: Jim Panzee says he’s not grumpy, but what do you notice about his body? // Movement: Can you make your body look like Jim Panzee’s? Copy expressions too.
  • p. 5-6: Movement: define hunched, and have littles hunch their bodies. Then loosen and wiggle their body as Jim does.
  • p 7-8: Movement: define bunched and have littles bunch up their eyebrows, then raise their eyebrows as Jim does.
  • p. 9-10: Movement: Frown and then smile as Jim does
  • p. 11-12: Before Reading the text: What do you notice about Jim’s body now? How does it look like he feels? Does he really feel that way?
  • p. 13-18: Movement: Pick and choose what animal actions the littles should mimic. Point out how Jim feels and looks throughout the pages.
  • p. 20: Why is Jim yelling and so upset? (Discuss: All the animals were trying to help, but did Jim want their help? Was it working? How do you think he felt when they kept telling him what to do?
  • p.23-24: Before Reading: How does Jim feel now? After Reading: Point out, now Jim admits he feels grumpy
  • p. 25-26: Norman is hunched and bunched too. How is he probably feeling? What happened when Norman danced with porcupine?
  • p. 29: Why does Jim begin to feel better? (Discuss: Sometimes, you just need to feel your feelings. It’s okay to be grumpy. It’s okay to not always be happy. Sometimes you just need to say how you feel aloud, and then figure out what works best for you when you feel like that. Open a discussion about what can you do when your re feeling grumpy to lead into the following book-inspired craft~)

*When I Feel Grumpy…* Monkey Craft

We all have those days when we just wake up *Grumpy.* There’s a cloud hanging over our heads and we just don’t feel like being happy~ and if anyone tries to change our mood, it only makes it worse. Ultimately, it’s up to us to move on from our grumpy mood. And it’s okay to embrace your stormy feelings and just process through them. Acknowledge how you feel, and then figure out what works best for you when you feel this way. Instead of pressuring littles to *be happy,* instead, offer them tools to navigate being grumpy. With today’s book-inspired craft, little learners will create their own Grumpy Monkey’s, and then record different tools and activities they can do to help them navigate through a grumpy day. Check it out down below!

Materials:

Directions

  • Choose your pieces for the Grumpy Monkey template. There are colored and black and white versions: Head; Arms; and Legs
  • Front Body Prompts: “When I’m Grumpy I can….” or “Grumpy________” (Fill in your name in the blank)
  • Inside Body Templates: Answer the prompt: “When I’m Grumpy I can….” : Write your own ideas in the blank label spaces, or cut and paste from the “Ideas” list. Or there are lines for writing, and lines plus a picture space
  • Print out your choices
  • PRINT OUT THE BODY DOUBLE SIDED OR Print Separate and glue back-to-back.
  • Choose your front template and inside body template and print them double sided  
  • If you chose black and white versions, color them in.
  • Cut them out. 
  • For the body, fold the two flaps in, so that the prompt is facing the front, and when you open the flaps the writing/drawing on the inside is revealed. 
  • Write your name in the blank on the front flaps. For example: “Grumpy ___Maya___” if you chose that template 
  • Fill in the inside to answer the  prompts and write/draw or cut-and-paste ideas of what to do when you are feeling grumpy. 
  • Next, attach the head by taping/gluing the bottom of the neck tab to the back of the body.-Glue the arms and legs to the back of the body as well. 
  • Display your Grumpy Monkeys to remind you it’s okay to be grumpy and to acknowledge your feelings.

Enjoy Your *When I Feel Grumpy…* Monkey Craft

  • Share your craft with family and friends to share ideas about what t do when they feel grumpy
  • Ask your friends and family what they do when they feel grumpy
  • Display your Grumpy Monkey craft in your room/ classroom to remind you of choices you have when you are feeling grumpy
  • Re-read Grumpy Monkey ad use your craft as a reading buddy to act out the story

*~ I hope you are enjoying plenty of reading adventures, Mai Friends! Tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary or FaceBook , find me on TikTok, or contact me via email to share your own *Grumpy Monkey* Crafts and your own reading adventures! I’d love to hear from you and learn more ideas on how to embrace a grumpy mood!~*

Enjoy More SEL Interactive Read Aloud Videos Here!

*~Until next time, Happy Reading~*