• Age: 5 to 10
• Grade: k to 5

"Sweetly encouraging of curiosity." - Kirkus Reviews

"The book’s active, bright illustrations celebrate both exploration and being happy
where you are." - Foreword Reviews

Monty is a typical donkey living a typical donkey life. Until the one day, he walks through the open gate and goes on an adventure . . .

A cheerful book about pushing your limits
and just trying something new.
For curious readers ages 5 years and up.

"Monty is a curious donkey who takes care of his friends at the farm. One day, he wonders what it is like outside the farm and wanders off to explore. This is a cute little book about curiosity, adventure, and coming back home. " - Lubbock Public Library
"Starring Monty the donkey, this beautifully illustrated children’s book is a fun adventure. For me, the strengths of the book are the illustrations, fun premise, and storyline." - A Home Library

Ellen DeLange's profile page

Małgorzata Zając's profile page

Ellen DeLange has been fascinated by picture books ever since she was a child growing up in the Netherlands. In the attic of her home, she assembled a small library and shared her collection with friends and family. As an adult, she started traveling and expanded her library with picture books from all over the world. Ellen also enjoyed inventing her own stories and was encouraged by her daughter to write her first picture book, A Story with a Tale. Ellen has a doctorate in medical sciences and currently lives in Canada where she loves to walk in the woods with her Jack Russell terriers, drink lots of tea after a busy day, and sail on the ocean to clear her mind. When I Look Up is her third book.

Małgorzata Zając is a Polish illustrator. She lives with her family in a very old city called Kraków. This city is known for its famous dragon (unfortunately no longer in good shape) and for Wawel Royal Castle (still in perfect shape).
Małgorzata strongly believes that imagination is the most important thing in life. Her head is always full of all kind of creatures, imaginary friends, magical worlds and entire stories. She uses her drawing skills and different techniques to create those nonexistent worlds on paper.
The shelves in Małgorzata’s workshop are filled with beautiful books illustrated by her favorite artists from all over the world. She admires them and learns something new from them every day. She dreams that her picture books will one day be on someone’s Favorites shelves too.

"A Dutch and Belgian import that ventures off the farm.
Monty, a spry, blue donkey, has a fairly predictable daily routine. Every morning he chomps on grass and then make the rounds of the farm, checking in on all of the animals. Mrs. Chicken, Mr. Horse, Wooly Sheep, and Llama Llama all love their chats with Monty. But one morning, Monty notices the gate is open, and he hears geese honking overhead. He has always wondered where the geese go every day. Curiosity gets the better of him, and he decides to follow. The geese lead him on (it must be said) a wild goose chase. But Monty has many new experiences along the way. He sees squirrels and beavers, tastes apples and berries, and splashes and splutters in a river. Luckily, he tucks some mementos into his saddle bag to share with his farmyard friends when he returns. It is no more than a journey across the meadow (endpapers show the path Monty follows), but youngsters will relate to how a small trip can seem like an epic adventure, especially when everything is new. With a snout that is slightly too big for his stubby legs and eyebrows that shoot off his face, Monty looks especially eager in Zając’s textured paintings. Sweetly encouraging of curiosity." - Kirkus Reviews

"Monty is a blue, wide-eyed donkey who’s content with his life on the farm, among other loving animals. But someone
left the gate open today, and Monty is tempted to wander. Curious by nature, he follows the examples set by a moose
and some geese before realizing that he’s not at home among beavers and squirrels. Monty is more than happy when
his adventures lead him home. The book’s active, bright illustrations celebrate both exploration and being happy
where you are." - Foreword Reviews

"This is a wonderful book that is filled with one adventure after another for this special donkey. The donkey learns that pushing yourself to the limits and trying new things helps you to become stronger. It is a happy book and provides excitement for its readers and/or listeners." - ITEEA

"Monty is a curious donkey who takes care of his friends at the farm. One day, he wonders what it's like outside the farm and wanders off to explore. This is a cute little book about curiosity, adventure, and coming back home.
" - Lubbock Public Library

"Monty's typical donkey day turns into a very special donkey day when he discovers that the gate, which is usually closed, has been left open! As he wanders, Monty learns about all sorts of things he didn't know before.
I loved this book because, in addition to the simple and interesting text, the illustrations were visually complex. There are lots of details all throughout the book that would make it a great read aloud for early grades. There are plenty of sound effects to make and details to point out, but the book also builds in opportunities to build book and print knowledge with young students.
For example, in a scene where Monty is wandering along the road, there's a point he is zoomed past by a red motorcycle. The motorcycle appears at two places in the spread, and everything on the left page is slightly smaller than the right page. This spread would be a great chance to highlight that we read from left to right in English--the left page happens before the right page, even though they're both there at the same time.
The teacher in me loves this book, but so does the reader. I am excited to incorporate it into my lessons after it comes out!" - The Literacy Lab

" Starring Monty the donkey, this beautifully illustrated children’s book is a fun adventure. For me, the strengths of the book are the illustrations, fun premise, and storyline." - A Home Library