Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Maniac Muffins

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. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)