Lulu the babysitter agrees to play hide-and-seek with the five little monkeys of this popular series. After counting to 10, she finds them hiding around the living room. She counts to 24 and finds them hiding in the yard. But while she counts to 104, the little monkeys discover the perfect hiding place, and she can't locate them at all. Beyond the counting practice (and there's plenty when you're counting to 104), this book offers children the pleasure of finding the monkeys in the crowded pictures and guessing their last, best hiding place. Illustrating the rhythmic, rhyming text, Christelow's energetic line drawings with colorful washes convey a sharp sense of giddy, good-hearted fun.

The five little monkeys are at it again, this time playing tricks on their babysitter. The rhyming text moves along quickly, and young listeners will enjoy pointing out the hidden monkeys in Christelow's familiar loose and lighthearted illustrations. Naughty monkeys, hide-and-seek, and lots of counting pretty much guarantee a satisfied preschooler audience.

PreS-K-Those naughty monkeys are back, and this time they're tormenting their baby-sitter. Mama's instructions are clear: "Lulu's the sitter./You'd better be good./No tricks! No silliness!/Is that understood?" They promise to behave and invite Lulu to be "it" for a game of hide-and-seek. She counts to 10 and quickly finds the little monkeys concealed in various spots around the living room. They beg for one more round, Lulu counts to 24, and her charges slip out into the yard, where she swiftly uncovers them. Finally, she counts to 124, and this time, Lulu can't locate them, and she's really worried. However, Mama peeks in the window as she comes home and sees them in the one place that never occurred to the baby-sitter-their own beds. The simple and colorful pen-and-ink and gouache artwork will be familiar to readers of Christelow's earlier books about these mischievous animals. The energetic illustrations work well with the overall mood of silliness. In addition to searching the pictures for the missing monkeys, children will enjoy the repetitive, rhyming nature of this story and will join in on the counting. A delightful choice for a group setting or for one-on-one sharing.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.