One of a number of international folkloric collections from children's author Shirley Climo - see also: A Treasury of Mermaids: Mermaid Tales from Around the World, A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World, and Someone Saw a Spider: Spider Facts and Folktales - this anthology of tales includes fourteen full-length selections, as well as a number of proverbs and informational asides, and is divided into three main sections, for the monkeys of Africa, of the Americas, and of Asia. Although many of the stories, which seem to be taken from older collections, don't specify which kind of monkey is involved, Climo makes an effort, in each brief introduction, to pair the tale in question with a specific type of simian, common in the area from which the story came.

The section devoted to Africa and Madagascar, which includes five tales and two proverbs, opens with Why a Monkey's Not a Man, from the Fon people of Benin, in which monkeys miss out on the opportunity to be people, after they neglect a task given to them by Mahu the Mother Goddess, when she is in the process of creating the world. Also included are: The People of the Trees, from the Efé people of the Congo, which explains how monkeys (the titular 'people of the trees') are descended from one particularly mischievous older couple; The Monkey, the Rats, the Cheese, from the Cape Verde Islands, in which two quarreling rats are outwitted by a monkey, who 'solves' the problem of how to divide their cheese by eating it all himself; and The Baboon and the Shark, from Liberia, in which a curious baboon must think quickly, when a shark tries to bring him to King Lobster so that his heart may be eaten as medicine. Finally, two proverbs - from the Bassa people of the Ivory Coast, and the Gola people of West Africa - an information section on lemurs, and a list of monkey 'phrases,' are all also included.

The second section is given over to the monkeys of the Americas, and contains four tales, a proverb from Ecuador, and two informational asides - one about the journey of African vervets (or green monkeys) to Barbados, and the other containing a list of monkey 'terms.' The tales include: The First Monkeys, a myth from the Mayan people of Mexico and Central America, which locates the origins of monkeys in the stick people whose creation preceded the corn people (human beings); The Spider Monkey's Close Shave, from Brazil, which explains how spider monkeys came to have hairless tails; So Say the Little Monkeys, a tale from the Amazon, which explains the origin of the saying "Amanhã. So say the little monkeys," used when someone wishes to delay a task until the next day; and Tasi and the Oranges, a tale from the Wayana people of Brazil, in which a howler monkey learns not to steal oranges from a local farmer. This final tale reminded me of the Tar Baby stories in the Brer Rabbit tradition.

The third and final section is devoted to the monkey tales of Asia, and includes five tales, two proverbs (from Hong Kong and India), and two informational asides, one about Japan's "Three Wise Monkeys," and the other concerning general monkey trivia. The tales lead off with the brief Chinese parable, The Monkey Keeper, in which the eponymous monkey keeper learns that how you phrase something is as important as what you say; and continues with the Japanese story of The Snow Monkey and the Boar, in which a couple decide not to abandon the performing monkey who had long been a part of their family, when he 'saves' the baby of the house from a rampaging boar. This tale is highly reminiscent of the Ukrainian story of Sirko and the Wolf, with the monkey and the boar taking the roles of the dog and wolf. Also included are: The Stone Monkey, the classic tale from China, in which Buddha teaches Monkey King an important lesson; Uncle Monkey and the Ghosts, a Filipino story in which an older monkey must reassure his fellow forest dwellers, when they become convinced that the ghosts of the creatures who once hunted them have returned; and Prince Rama and the Monkey Chieftain, from the Indian epic, the Ramayana, which chronicles the conflict between Rama and Ravana, for the lovely Sita.

All in all, I enjoyed Monkey Business: Stories from Around the World, finding the stories engaging, and the color illustrations very appealing. I also appreciated the fact that Climo included such detailed source notes. Recommended to young monkey lovers, and to folklore enthusiasts. ( )