By Sam E. Bromley and Kid Cardona
Jabberwocky Books, $14.95, 77 pages
ISBN 9781935204312

Can the message in a children’s book get kids off the couch and outside playing? Sam E. Bromley believes so and tries that tactic in his new book. Hunka Chunka Monkey lives among the luscious leaves near the top of the trees. Here, he enjoys double dipping his chocolate chip cookies in double fudge sauce and smothering the treat in chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. While devouring the sugar overload, Hunka Chunka Monkey watched other animals play on the playground. One day, he spies Runka Dunka Donkey dunking the basketball and decides to investigate. Eventually, the donkey invites the monkey to play ball and it doesn’t take long for Hunka Chunka to slim down.

“”And remember,” said Runka Dunka Donkey, “you do not need to stop eating your double fudge dipped chocolate chip cookies covered in chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. You only need to cut back on your favorite snack.”"

Bromley, a former Special Education instructor, developed the characters to confront today’s number one issue – childhood obesity – in a non-preachy manner. For the most part, he succeeds. But sections of the text sound like an adult speaking down to a child instead of two characters sharing a conversation. If you’re going to connect with a young reading audience, you have to speak their language. Illustrated by Kid Cardona, a caricature artist, the accompanying pictures add to the story and give a clear vision of what an active lifestyle looks like. Production-wise, a few issues are noticeable in the book, including grammar errors and off-set page folios.

Reviewed by LuAnn Schindler