The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear: Book 2: Winter

- Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2017: The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear, Book 2: Winter -

KIRKUS REVIEW (starred review)

The multilingual Gracie and her brainy dog MonkeyBear return for winter adventures in O'Kelly and Farrell's (The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear: Book 1: Summer, 2017) second series entry.

MonkeyBear has been preparing for a journey, judging from his consultation of a map of Yeti sightings and books about Yeti, Nepal, and airships. He and Gracie soon find huge footprints in Grandma's yard, and a cry for help leads them to the cave of a Yeti whose yak has accidentally frozen its tongue to the ice. The authors celebrate science education by having Gracie smartly solve the problem by bouncing sunlight off of mirrors, but when it works too well, Gracie and MonkeyBear must carve an ice boat for themselves. Next, they rescue a snow leopard by turning their boat into an airship. Lastly, they encounter Denpa Druk, a Bhutanese Thunder Dragon ("Finally, MonkeyBear, I get to speak Dzongkha," says Gracie), who needs help getting his magic stripes back--all before Grandma calls Gracie and MonkeyBear home. Overall, this sequel features just as many exciting encounters as the first book and as many delightful details in the pictures. One glorious illustration features fantastic cloud hues and sunlight while requiring the book to be turned sideways.

Fans are sure to look forward to what Gracie imagines in the spring.

Author: C. S. O'Kelly
Publisher: Monkeybear Publishing
Published: 11/21/2017
Pages: 34
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 11.00h x 8.50w x 0.09d
ISBN: 9781946807052
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2017 pg. 217

About the Author
O'Kelly, C. S.: - Thanks to a small group of dedicated artists, editors and designers, C. S. O'Kelly is grateful to be able to create and author the storyworld of the children's picture book series 'The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear.' Born to a loving mother with little money, but an abundance of imagination she shared with C. S. during long walks, bike rides before helmets, and nightly readings from mountains of books. Stories of giants and elves, mythical beasts and powerful maidens filled the world of C. S. from the earliest of memories. After finishing graduate school, C. S. O'Kelly sold off all five possessions, purchased a 1974 Ford 19 foot motorhome and went north. After ten years in SE Alaska, C. S. landed in warmer climes on a small ranch in Northern California where crafting stories and storyworlds seemed as natural as raising organic free-range chickens (named after Stars Wars characters) for eggs only. To this day, C. S. travels the world but always comes back to the small ranch with a home built with C. S.'s own hands. The philosophy that we enter the world with innate, powerful and beautiful imaginations is the core for all of C. S. O'Kelly's works and a belief that permeates all things C. S. ________________________________________ An unusual sort of picture book... Gracie & MonkeyBear is told through the actions and conversations between a brilliant young girl and her partner in adventure, the greatest canine inventor the world has ever seen... MonkeyBear! The pace is that of children, hopping and bouncing from one creative thought to the next, one adventure to another. This is not a traditional children's book, rather it is a storyworld meant to be read and experienced together, parent and child, veteran bookworms with new readers. At its core, The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear embodies the concepts of relentless curiosity, untethered imagination, power of diverse friendships and experiences (like the world around us), heroic acts of kindness based on strength of character and most of all, the belief that all living things are connected and should be treated with love, compassion, and respect. Thank you for supporting independent authors and illustrators! Without you, we would not exist. -C.S. O'Kelly