Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #151596 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
On the lam from the zoo, an ape tours New York City; PW's starred review especially praised the "wry wit" and "kinetic energy" of the illustrations. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- One day `` . . . when the zookeeper wasn't looking, Marvin . . . slipped out.'' The adventuresome ape proceeds to sample the delights of the city, going to the art museum, the movies, and a ball game. In the thickly painted caricatures of New York, Marvin, riding the subway or ordering the jungle fruit platter in a restaurant, is both amusing and surprisingly at home. The humor turns on the fact that big city dwellers rarely look at one another. Children will be in on the joke, which makes them smarter than the police, the zookeeper, and the other people. However, the minimal text does not make the most of the idea. Usually one line placed in the center of a blank page facing the picture, the narrative tends to define the illustration rather than enhance or extend it. These pictures are lively enough to need no definition. In a not unexpected twist to the end, back at the zoo, Helvetica the hippo dashes out when the keeper's head is turned. While Marvin is a sly blend of ape and human, the purple hippo is not as immediately believable, but who knows . . . if she buys a nice flowered dress, she will probably fit right in with the other ladies out for an afternoon of shopping. While not a necessary purchase, this will nevertheless produce a few chuckles. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Card catalog description
Marvin the ape slips out of the zoo and finds he likes it on the outside, where he easily blends into city lifestyles.

Customer Reviews

My daughter is 12 and this is still a family favorite
We've had this book for a long time and we still bring it out every now and then.
I think we enjoy the nostalgia of reading a favorite book together and we still
like seeing Marvin's adventures in the city and trying to remember where the
emu and the cat are. It took us years actually to find the emu on the subway.

Marvin the Ape
This is an awesome book. I used it with fourth graders to teach the organization trait in the 6 traits writing. The kids loved the story and suggested we write a spin off of the book. They did an awesome job and made their stories into books and illustrated them. Highly recommend it to get students motivated to write.

awesome book
I had never heard of this book before my son received it as a gift. He was about 9 months old and would insist that we read it again and again. He is now 4.5 and still likes it. And his little brother has enjoyed it just as much. The illustrations are fantastic and its fun to search for Marvin on every page. I highly recommend this book. I also love the language - it uses fantastic, descriptive words. My soon was 2 and used the words mesmorized and exhilarating because he learned them from this book.