A monkey's dreams while he is asleep. Really cute and funny illustrations.

This book was about a monkey who dreamed about being someone other than himself. He dreamed about being a giant, being small, being able to fly or not being able to run, to be an actor, singer, painter, writer, etc. He also dreamed of being out of the ordinary things, like a sumo wrestler and scuba diver, and explorer. This book was really cute because the monkey wanted to be everything but a monkey. I would extend it by having the monkey act out being a couple different things like actor or singer. Then I would actually have to extend it by having an adventurous part like with being an explorer or sumo wrestler.

I'm not sure I recognized every inspiration, but it was a lot of fun seeing Willy dip his toe into Dali, Magritte, Baum, etc. An appendix seems mandatory, but is missing. I'm not sure I actually feel and enriched understanding of the inspirational works, either - but I imagine a child with an artistic sensibility, or a child of parents who are culturally astute would get more out of this than I did. I'm impressed by everything of Browne's that I've found, but I don't think he stretched himself full-out on this one. ( )

Willy dreams about being a movie star, a singer, an explorer, a scuba diver, and various other things. He also dreams about becoming famous and reminisces about his past. It is great for the younger grades because of its simple story plot and beautiful illustrations. It can connect to young children's dreams about the future. ( )

Astounding illustrations are evocative of deeper themes beneath the surface of this apparently simple book. ( )