Grumpy Monkey is at it again in this fun graphic novel about Jim returning to school to learn all the skills he needs to survive in the jungle. hijinks ensue and we follow Jim as he grumbles his way through his lessons while giving kids the message that we can learn at any age and sometimes we have to work smarter not harder.

I've read the Grumpy Monkey storybook as a read-aloud to my class. This Grumpy Monkey: School Stinks graphic novel gives kids a chance to practice reading on their own with familiar characters and settings. Both the text and the illustrations are engaging and funny. Kids can use the pictures and their own developing reading skills to read the book without the intimidation of full paragraphs. Also, the words butt and but can’t be confused in this book! Lol!
Thank you Random House Studio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Grumpy Monkey is a big hit lately and I can understand why. Jim is so relatable; he reminds me of my brother and his hatred of school. I feel like this book would be a great learning experience for some kids that just want to give up after failure. A good learning tool.

My five year old helped me with this review. Tyler’s review: I loved this book. I loved when he didn’t want to go to school, but then he learned that school is really FUN! Jim was even able to save his friend with what he learned! Kids should read this book so they know what to do in real life school, Ty added, like pay attention and have a good attitude.

It’s the perfect first graphic novel to share with your littles. I loved being able to use the pictures to have Ty infer what characters might do and how they were feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

My 6 year old and I were so excited to read another Grumpy Monkey as we have been big fans in the past. However, this one fell a bit short for me. The setup is that Grumpy Monkey gets sprayed by a polecat because he doesn't pay attention to school and learning about animal habits and tracks. So, he returns to school even though he pretends he's too cool for school. He struggles to pay attention and fails a test in school but saves Oxpecker from eating poisonous berries. He ends up learning the lesson regardless. The message in this one wasn't clear and didn't paint school in a positive light at all. I was hoping it would be about learning to enjoy school and learning and perhaps that was the point -- that school can help you in real life -- but that didn't come across well. Grumpy Monkey also didn't have any of his characteristic grumpy moments either. I loved the Grumpy Monkey squeeze one and was hoping this would be similar but it felt a bit under developed. I still love Grumpy Monkey and would add this to my library if I worked in an elementary library because kids know and enjoy the series.

I like that fans of the Grumpy Monkey books will be able to read longer books as they start to get more advanced in reading too. It's a great idea! This had the same amount of humor and heart as all the other books do.

I love Grumpy Money and this graphic novel, while very easy and simplistic, was awesome. So much fun and the art is top-notch. I loved the characters and the vibes. I am excited for my daughter to read this, because, the lessons are valid, the story is great, and she loves the character. A+ job here, Ms. Lang.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed this one. I think it has great themes for kids, especially when it comes to persevering at school. I will definitely be purchasing this one.

It was fun to read a Jim story for a slightly older kid. This seems like it would appeal to a younger elementary aged child. The lessons of learning from your mistakes is good.

I love to see more from grumpy monkey. He is a well loved character in our library. This was a funny engaging graphic novel. Great for reluctant readers.