picture book: monkey's christmas tree

Monkey’s Christmas Tree

Written and illustrated

by Cynthia M. Parkhill

Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by Cynthia M. Parkhill

Based upon a short story

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Parkhill, Cynthia M.

Monkey’s Christmas Tree/ by Cynthia M. Parkhill : illustrated by Cynthia M. Parkhill

Summary: A cat resorts to stealth to steal a Christmas ornament from the tree.

1. Cats – Fiction

2. Christmas traditions – Fiction.

3. Parkhill, Cynthia M., ill.

Today brings guests to the home Monkey shares with his human.

Their presence is acceptable …

even though they smell like other cats.

While the humans go about their business …

Monkey enjoys his sleep.

Monkey wakes to cold air and

noise as the humans bring a

tree inside the house. He

remembers that humans do

this when the hours of daylight

grow short.

Humans do this.

And cats do this.

They just have to be sneaky about it.

Even when something is obviously meant for them.

“Monkey’s Christmas Tree”

(Notes by Cynthia M. Parkhill for Cuesta College ECE 234, Children’s Literature, December 2014)

If I had to name a genre for “Monkey’s Christmas Tree,” it would be realistic

fiction with a non-human protagonist.

When I wrote “Monkey’s Christmas Tree,” I tried to filter a human holiday

tradition through a cat’s understanding. Moreover, I tried to express the

feelings and experiences of a specific cat, so this story could be a fictional

memoir -- again from the perspective of the cat.

Monkey doesn’t magically talk to humans; he communicates through body

language that I’ve observed through a lifetime of sharing a home with cats.

(This concept was much more fully developed in the original work of short-

fiction, which you can read at http://cynthiaparkhill.blogspot.com/2012/12/

original-fiction-monkeys-christmas-tree.html).

Aside from his name, the speaking noises humans make mean very little to

Monkey. Instead, Monkey relies on scent to inform him about his surroundings.

The real-life cat, on whom this story is based, didn’t just sniff the clogs of a

human visitor; he luxuriously rubbed against them.

Was he trying to “overwrite” the lingering scent of the human’s cats back

home? Was he posting a reply greeting on a scent-based bulletin board? Or was

he doing something altogether else?

Writing Monkey’s story also allowed me the chance to explore idiosyncrasies

of human behavior. I am an autistic woman in a world organized along

neurotypical rules, many of which are never explicitly stated.

Sometimes human behavior runs counter to stated rules, and I have to be a

“social detective” to find out what the “real” rule is.

I could absolutely relate to what seemed, to me, a perfectly logical

conclusion: a low-hanging Christmas ornament was obviously intended for

Monkey because it was placed in his reach. For a human to then interfere with

his conquest sends an inconsistent message.

Assigned to create a picture book for my children’s literature class, I chose

“Monkey’s Christmas Tree” because I believed that the story, which focuses on

a cat, would appeal to young readers. I work part-time as Library Assistant at

an elementary school, and books about animals, both informational and

literary, enjoy regular use.

This picture-book adaptation intends to convey through illustration what was

originally communicated in words. My hope is that readers can understand

story elements when I rely upon pictures alone.

I chose stark black ink against white paper with a splash of green color,

primarily because I was working with media that were readily available. But I

have always been particularly attracted to the graphic-novel approach. So I

convey Monkey’s impressions of human voices through speaking balloons. His

name is rendered in readable text, but everything else consists of dashes. The

humans produce sounds, but those sounds hold no relevant meaning.

Ultimately, my hope is that readers would be able to relate to this character.

Consistency creates a “safe” environment for a child, and Monkey models the

importance of consistency.

Cynthia M. Parkhill

December 2014