Grumpy Monkey

Why It's On Our Shelf

Jim wakes up grumpy, and all his friends keep trying to fix it, which only makes him grumpier. The message is perfect - you don't have to be happy all the time, and people trying to force you to cheer up often makes things worse. The illustrations by Max Lang are expressive and funny, with Jim's grumpy face being genuinely amusing. What makes this work is that Jim's friends eventually learn to just let him be grumpy, and that acceptance is what actually helps. It's a good counter to toxic positivity, teaching kids that all emotions are acceptable and sometimes you just need to feel what you feel.