Happy Birthday Chimp and Zee

by Catherine and Laurence Anholt

It is a pair of twin chimpanzee's birthday which sets the story for this enjoyable picture book. The story goes through the whole birthday day and celebrations from the moment the chimpanzee family wakes up to the bedtime for the two twins cleverly name Chimp and Zee. The illustrations in this book are bright, colorful, and extremely entertaining. The reader and find out twice as much stuff from searching through the illustrations. The picture book even includes a center fold out page in the middle of the story with many more pictures to read. The language of the book is almost rhyming and has many plays on the words beginning with the title. The text is laid out on the page in an interesting way the further the story. For example "higher, higher, higher until they reach the top" scrolls along the curve of the steep hill in the illustration. The chimps get lost after not listening to their parents where they ultimately learn the lesson to stay close and obey their parents which can be easily translated into the readers own life. "Toot, toot, toot! Tee hee hee! Can't catch Chimp! Can't catch Zee!" The book also uses fun repetition throughout the book that would be sure to keep the young reader engaged throughout the story.

Intended Age 2-6