Describe Grumpy Monkey Pictures

Blind kids benefit from picture descriptions every bit as much as sighted kids do from seeing the pictures. Don't forget to share these picture descriptions, written by a descriptive audio expert, especially for Great Expectations!

Picture Descriptions for Grumpy Monkey

• Front cover

  Jim Panzee is a monkey with big ears, messy brown fur, and a mouth pinched into a tight frown. A single furrowed eyebrow runs straight above his eyes. His face is set against a bright red background.

• Title page spread

  A dragonfly flies through the hazy jungle sky. Pale blue-green mountains slope toward a valley. A spotted lizard scurries up a curvy tree trunk. A caterpillar rests on a leafy, looping branch.

• First spread of story

  A bright sky peeks through the branches of a giant tree covered with green leaves and vines. Sunlight dapples the fan-shaped foliage below the tree with a rosy pink glow.
  
  Jim Panzee, a small monkey with big ears and messy brown fur, hangs from a branch. He stares straight ahead with a frown on his face. A single eyebrow runs straight above his heavy-lidded eyes. Yellow banana peels litter the branch below him.

• Text begins: "Jim was confused."

  Jim shrugs his shoulders and throws up his hands. A big-bellied gorilla holding a bunch of bananas gazes down at him from a higher branch.

• Text begins: "Maybe you're grumpy..."

  Norman the gorilla follows Jim as he stomps away. Jim's paws scrunch up into tight fists.

• Text begins: "On his walk he met Marabou."

  Norman whispers to Marabou, a tall, black-feathered turkey vulture with a pointy beak and a droopy, red neck. Marabou squints at Jim through narrowed eyes.

• Text begins: "But look at how..."

  Jim straightens up his stance and swings his arms while looking over at his two friends Norman and Marabou.

• Text begins: "Then he ran into Lemur."

  Jim waves his arms at Lemur, who clings to a tree branch leaning over him. Lemur's long, striped tail dangles almost to the ground. A tiny turtle crawls through the pale green grass. Norman stands nearby shrugging his shoulders.

• Text begins: "Your eyebrows look grumpy..."

  A tiny snail watches everything with bulging eyes from behind Lemur's tree. Norman and Lemur examine Jim closely. Jim yanks up his brow with his left paw.

• Text begins: "Then he tripped over Snake."

  Jim lies on the grass on his back. Snake's long body curls all around him. Norman gasps and covers his mouth with his hands.

• Text begins: "Then why that frown?"

  Jim contorts his lips into a toothy smile. Snake and Norman watch with big smiles on their faces.

• Text begins: "Finally Jim looked happy."

  Jim grits his teeth and bounces away.

• Text begins: "Everyone wanted..."

  Jim hunches on a gray rock with his hands over his head. Thirteen squawking birds hover overhead. Norman, beating his chest, joins the birds in song.

• Text begins: "You should swing with us!"

  Norman and the other six monkeys swing on ropey vines. Jim snatches his paw away as a fellow monkey reaches for him.

• Text begins: "You should roll with us!"

  Jim watches Norman and two striped zebras rustle up clouds of dirt as they roll on their backs.
  
  Jim watches Norman and three colorful peacocks as they stroll. The peacocks' long, feathery tails brush the ground.

• Text begins: "You should lie in the grass!"

  A lion lazes in the yellow grass. Norman stretches out on his tummy next to him and sniffs a purple flower. Jim perches on Norman's backside.
  
  Norman and a laughing elephant stomp the ground. The shockwaves launch Jim into the air!

• Text begins: "You should take a bath!"

  A hippo glides through the water.
  
  An otter floats on his back.
  
  The snake coils around a bunny rabbit.
  
  A hyena giggles.
  
  An alligator naps.

• Text begins: "You should eat old meat!"

  Marabou snacks on some old meat as flies buzz all around.
  
  A brown bear holds a dripping honeycomb.
  
  A frog jumps up in the air.
  
  Lemur sits.
  
  A porcupine dances.

• Text begins: "But Jim didn't feel..."

  All of the animals look down at Jim who has a big frown on his face and clenched paws.

• Text begins: "I'M NOT GRUMPY!"

  Jim yells his message and beats his chest. His eyes bulge and his mouth forms a giant "O". He stands against a bright red background.

• Text begins: "And he stormed off."

  Jim storms away while his animal friends watch.

• Text begins: "Jim felt sorry."

  Jim sits slumped under a flowering tree at the edge of a calm lake. His eyes are wide and his lips quiver. A small turtle in the water stares at him.

• Text begins: "...he came upon Norman."

  Balancing on his hands, Jim points his left foot at Norman.

• Text begins: "No."

  Norman has a big frown on his face as he pulls at several sharp porcupine quills sticking out of his backside.

• Text begins: "Are you okay?"

  Jim and Norman sit side by side on a huge tree branch, their backs facing us. The setting sun casts long, orange shadows on the grassy hills. Norman's backside is covered in bandages.

• Text begins: "And he already felt..."

  Norman drapes his big, furry arm around Jim's shoulder. They share a smile together.

• Back cover

  Jim Panzee storms away, kicking up some rocks. A green frog, a scaly alligator, a slithery snake, a fluffy-maned lion, a roly-poly brown bear, and a scrawny-necked giraffe watch him go with bulging eyes.

These descriptions were written by Jill Robbins for Great Expectations.