Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Maniac Muffins
When a baking disaster produces monstrous, runaway muffins, only Chico Bon Bon and his tool belt-apron can help! Chico proves you just need the right tools to turn any problem into a sweet success.
Chico Bon Bon is happy to help in the kitchen, especially seeing how much clean-up and repair work Clark's cooking process requires. Then Clark's blueberry muffins explode from the oven like monstrous, blueberry cannonballs. Chico will need some quick thinking and his handy tool belt-apron to stop the maniacal muffins from wreaking havoc on Main Street-and turn a culinary disaster into a taste sensation. Monroe's witty text, fast-paced action, and hilarious visual details make this adventure with Chico and friends more entertaining than ever.
Creators
Chris Monroe is the author and illustrator of Bug on a Bike and the Monkey with a Tool Belt series. She's also the illustrator of Big Little Brother by Kevin Kling. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota.
Reviews
Monroe’s impish illustrations are busy with delightful touches—Chico’s kitchen-specific tool belt, complete with “thermometer with bling” and “butter splapper” is particularly terrific—and her deadpan humor should please adults as well as kids. The silliness still feels fresh, even in Chico’s fourth outing.
Kirkus Reviews
Chico Bon Bon’s fourth picture book might be his funniest yet, as the very handy monkey tries to keep up with the disastrous culinary efforts of his elephant friend, Clark. As the book opens, the kitchen table has been leveled by one of Clark’s giant pancakes (‘They’re very dense,’ Clark explains, undeterred), and the blueberry muffins the elephant whips up blow the door off the oven before going on a rampage through town (‘They were so bouncy!!!! They were so heavy!!’). Chico Bon Bon’s quick thinking saves the day—leftovers have seldom come in so handy—and Monroe’s manic cartooning will have kids laughing from start to finish.
Publishers Weekly
There is at least a chuckle on every page, and the monkey’s engineering prowess is inspiring. VERDICT: With a plethora of details and powerful humor, this title will be a popular segue into STEM sessions. Expect an explosive storytime.
School Library Journal
