My Little Monkey

Ulf Nilsson, illustrated by Kristina Digman

My Little Monkey is a poetic, finely tuned tale about a boy who encounters a troop of baboons. Among them is a baby the boy has some contact with. But in Hermanus, way down in southern South Africa where the boy lives, many people are angry with the baboons. One day the baboons invade his neighbours’ house, and the baby baboon gets left behind. The boy looks after it and comforts it, and eventually helps it find its way back to its mother. From time to time the boy returns to the place outside the town to see his little monkey. He will go back many, many times.

With his masterly skill as a storyteller Ulf Nilsson has once again created an exciting, fascinating and deeply humane story with both sharp humour and great warmth. The book works on many levels, and as so often happens in Ulf Nilsson’s work, it gives the reader cause to reflect.