- Graphic Novels
- Ages 6–10
- Comedy
Bunny vs Monkey
Book 1 of 11 in Bunny vs MonkeyView the full series
A riotously funny forest comic about Bunny trying to keep the peace after Monkey crash-lands and begins causing total mayhem. A near-perfect bridge from silly picture books into independent graphic-novel reading.
- Best for6–10
- FormatGraphic
- Length256 pp
- Read aloud~2 hr
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
- Onomatopoeic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Absurdist
- Irreverent
- Exciting
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Bunny lives peacefully in the woods with Weenie the Squirrel, Pig, Action Beaver and the rest of the gang, until Monkey is accidentally fired into their world by the British space programme. Monkey is loud, chaotic, convinced he should rule everything, and entirely uninterested in letting the woods stay calm. What follows is a barrage of comic-strip episodes full of slapstick, inventions, shouting, bad plans and rapid-fire visual jokes. Jamie Smart's panel storytelling is bright, expressive and incredibly accessible, with just enough recurring cast dynamics to make the world feel familiar while keeping the reading experience fast and joke-driven. This first modern collected volume is the best canonical entry point, especially for children who love Dog Man, Looshkin or any book where the next page is likely to contain an explosion, a chase or someone yelling something ridiculous.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 6–10
- Read aloud · 5–10
- Independent · 6–11
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
2 / 5 · Mild
Best for
- Dog man fans
- Looshkin fans
- Phoenix comic readers
- Silly humour
- Visual readers
Avoid if
- Prefers calm books
- Needs clear plot
- Dislikes shouting
- Needs low visual density
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Struggling with reading
- Neurodiversity or learning differences
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Pure reading-for-pleasure fuel and a brilliant reluctant-reader hook — a forest comic kids race through, and a strong bridge into independent graphic-novel reading.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific pleasure is joke density — every panel has a gag, every page has three, and the rules are unhinged enough that a seven-year-old feels like they've snuck into something the grown-ups would probably stop if they were paying attention. The kind of book a child reads with their whole face.
- Adventure and freedom
- Breaking the rules safely
- Friendship and belonging
- Having a nemesis
- Trickery and cleverness
Why parents love it
The graphic novel that will reliably convert a screen-only six- or seven-year-old into someone who reads for fun. Short episodic chapters mean a stalled reader gets a constant fresh laugh — and once they're hooked, there are eleven volumes waiting. The British Phoenix Comic roots show in the wit.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
- Indie gem discovery
In the series
Bunny vs Monkey.
11 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Jamie Smart.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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