After reading Nicole Frankel's cute book, "What are bees good for anyway?", I absolutely wanted to read one about Mondays, mainly because many times, I've had a serious case of the Mondays.

Nicole has a great way of telling a story from a kid's point of view and finding the joy in everyday things. I think if more people read this book on Sunday, it might help get through the first day of the work and school week.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A cute little story about remembering to see the good and smile. Fun pictures too! A perfect length for preschool/toddler.

Monday is not for everyone, even adults hate that, and some had jitters on Sunday evening. Bennie too. This book is what everyone needs, Sometimes we feel like free time is over, and here goes another new week. But in this book, Bennie taught us that we can also laugh on days like Mondays.

The moral is clear here, that if you expect to be down in the dumps all day, you WILL be down in the dumps all day. Bennie is adamant it's going to be a dreadful Monday, as he fears the spelling test, the dodgy school lunch, and so on. And he's only just gotten up before he gets pranked. But even that can bring a bit of pleasure to his life, if he only lets it – and throughout the day accidents and incidents, and a bit of wasted food, all prove to Bennie that there is actually enough to be light-hearted about, at least, whatever day of the week. The visuals and text both have a child-friendly broad obviousness about them – neither is done superlatively well, but it certainly gets the point across. So all told this is a lightly-delivered lesson you can't really object to.

I requested this book for my 8 year old because she dreads going to school and Mondays are especially hard. However, this book missed the mark for me. Not everything is a laughing matter and dealing with disappointments by laughing is not helping children deal with their emotions and frustrations. I won’t be passing this along, sadly.

Great book! I requested this for my SPD kiddo, but I ended up loving it too! The illustrations were wonderful!

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews you'll know that I start them all off the same way, by saying that every book starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be solidly stuck in place by the time I close the back cover. You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars but that i always give my reasons within the review. I've also replaced a star thanks to the author of that book putting a magic sentence at the back of the book and I'm totally willing to do that again if necessary.

Let's get on with the review.

I'm already confused about the age range for this book as 3 year olds can't read and 8 year olds are rapidly gaining confidence in their reading independently ability, so I'll hopefully be able to see who this book as I read it. Based on there only being 35 pages, I'm thinking it's a picture book so I can't see a 6-8 year old wanting to read it.

The main character is at school and having a spelling test, so that's kinda 7-8 year olds and a 3 year old would be doing disgusting things with their fingers by now, so it seems like the author really doesn't know much about their audience, so the first star is coming off.

Brand names are being used, potentially without permission, so we're down to 3 stars.

Now the author is using words that are unsuitable for the UK market ("trash can") and even the most bookwormish of bookworms would have given up by now, so the third star comes off and we're down to 2 stars.

I hate to say it, but I'm sooo glad this book was only 35 pages long 'cos the author just made so many mistakes throughout it.

This book reminded us of Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad dad but with more humor. We were all a fan of this book and I highly recommend it to children that get nervous about going to school. One question we had though: was Benny imagining the events that happened during the day? Great book either way. 4.5 stars.

A charming and uplifting children's book that is perfect for parents and teachers looking to inspire a growth mindset in young readers. The story is relatable and engaging, with lovable characters and hilarious moments that will have kids laughing out loud. The book's message is clear and important - even on the toughest days, there is always room for humor and positivity. This is a must-read for any child struggling with back-to-school jitters or Monday blues.

2.5★
“Bennie hates MONDAYS.”

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“Mondays mean: No more chocolate chip pancakes covered in ooey-gooey syrup”

He tramps down the stairs, spots his favourite cereal on the table, tips the box and pours out a pair of smelly socks! Little brother Lennie has been playing tricks. Bennie finds himself smiling.

He grabs some of the cereal he doesn’t like and starts throwing pieces of it around on his way to school, thinking about the spelling test coming up. He trips, and falls over flat on the ground. Of course – it’s Monday. What did he expect?

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“At that moment, Bennie noticed something staring up at him from the puddle. The Wheatballs had landed in the shape of a smiley face!”

That makes him smile too. While he’s in class, trying to remember his spelling words, he looks up and sees pencils dangling in the air. They fall and land in his teacher’s fluffy bun hairdo.

“Mondays aren’t for laughs, but oh, what a sight, and some things in life make your heart light.”

That short refrain appears throughout the story, each time Bennie is amused by something. Lunchtime does not look promising. He loves Miss Clemmie’s corndogs and cheese pizza, but that’s not today’s menu.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“And because mystery meatloaf wasn’t bad enough, she always served it with green Jell-O that looked like oozy Galaxy Slime.”

Oh horrors! In the cafeteria he inspects his jell-O and then squeezes it.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“The green sludge shot out of the cup and landed with a SPLAT! on the cafeteria wall.”

He knows Miss Clemmie won’t be happy, but he cracks up and laughs so hard he’s crying. In the next picture, the other kids have turned to look at the wall, so we can’t see their reactions.

After school, his dad takes him to the park, and wouldn’t you know it? There’s a sign saying it’s closed Monday. Of course it is, just Bennie’s luck. But then, his luck changes and a quick breeze blows the sign down and sticks it onto the backside of a dog! He rolls around the grass with the dog and laughs some more.

At home at dinner, he tells the family all the funny things that had happened to him and they laugh with him. He laughs so hard, he tips his chair over backwards and his head lands in the trash can.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“Bennie removed the trash can, and the laughter stopped—but not for long. Bennie, with his trash-covered head, was the funniest thing his family had ever seen!”

When everyone finally calms down. Bennie makes an announcement.

“Now I know what MONDAYS are good for: LAUGHS!”

Being one of the many people who never looked forward to Mondays, I thought I’d like to see how Bennie dealt with them. I can see what the author has tried to do, find some humour in everyday activities, but I found them decidedly odd.

I don’t think Bennie would have been amused finding stinky socks in his favourite cereal. Presumably he was then stuck with the “icky” cereal, which he then took and threw around on the say to school. He was angry. (I know the cereal won’t hurt any birds or animals.) I think the smiley face is a bit far-fetched and he’d be too annoyed to react positively.

As for the dangling pencils over the teacher’s head, I assume he must have imagined that. she may have had three pencils stuck in her bun, as teachers sometimes could, but we can’t see anyone laughing except Bennie.

As for squirting jell-O on the wall, even accidentally, that seems pretty negative to me. I think this had a great premise – finding funny things to laugh at even when you’re grouchy, but I didn’t like any of them. I imagine even the dog was unnerved by having a sign stuck to him, hence the rolling around.

Thanks to NetGalley and BookBuzz.net for the copy for review.

A funny, and light book about a little school boy that hates Mondays. As the day progresses, bad yet funny things happen to him and he learns to laugh and accept Mondays. I like how his mood progressed throughout the book.

4.5 stars

Story: 5/5
Main Character: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Ending: 5/5

The book is well-written and engaging with cute pictures but the story itself is a bit invalidating. While I think the author intended to teach kids to always look for the "silver lining," the execution of this was a swing-and-a-miss. I don't know a single child facing down a crummy Monday who would be happy to find his brother's dirty socks when he was looking forward to a bowl of sugary cereal or who'd enjoy ending that crummy day by falling out of his chair and ending up with his head in a trash can or any of the other seemingly soul-crushing things that befall our young protagonist that day. While the book is somewhat reminiscent of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," the beauty of that version is that kids who read it could relate to having an awful day like Alexander and felt validated in their own unpleasant feelings about a bad day, comforted by the knowledge that everyone has days like that and that it's normal and okay to feel those kinds of emotions. By the end of Alexander, the author also showed their young readers that even if something isn't good right now, there's always a chance to turn things around. A lot of valuable emotional lessons there. This book, by contrast, supplants real commiseration in favor of toxic positivity and I fear sends the message to kids to put on a happy face despite the bad stuff that happens or the way you may feel. I would not purchase or read to my kids as this is not a message I want to teach them. But with a few thoughtful, validating tweaks here and there, this author could make this book an engaging gem.

What are Mondays good for, Anyway is an adorable, relatable, and funny picture book about a young boy that hates going back to school on Mondays. Throughout the book many hilarious and relatable things happen to him. I’ll be getting this for my kids. I highly recommend it!

This was a cute story but i don’t think it was edited well to fit on kindle or the app. The pictures were cut up as well as some of the sentences making it not flow properly. The story was good tho. And i know we all hate Mondays haha but it’s a good point that they’re not all bad and we can find the good in every thing if we choose to

What are Mondays good for? I ask myself that question every week.
This book is the perfect book for teachers to read to their nervous school students on Monday morning. The mood of Bennie progresses as the day goes on and that was what I enjoyed most. I can’t wait to read this book to my children before school. 5 stars!

What Are Mondays Good For, Anyway? is a delightful children's book that follows Bennie on his quest to conquer his Monday blues and find joy in the start of the school week. Bennie dislikes Mondays because they mean the end of the weekend fun and the beginning of a long week of work and responsibility. But with a little bit of humor and a change of perspective, Bennie discovers that Mondays can be just as fun and exciting as any other day.

This heartwarming picture book is a valuable tool for parents and teachers who want to promote a growth mindset and help children deal with back-to-school jitters. It encourages a supportive learning environment and helps anxious school-aged children feel more confident and positive about the start of the week. What Are Mondays Good For, Anyway? is a must-have addition to any children's book collection or elementary school library.

This book is about a boy named Benny that hates Mondays. Something we can all relate to! The book goes through a Monday school day of his where one something bad keeps happening to him. But Benny finds humor. This was a big hit with my 6 year old son. He loved the space shirt and the pencils above the teacher. Thank you for the copy.

This is a cute story about a young boy who had his mind set that Mondays are days to dread. Like a us do. But as we follow him through his school day and after he finds himself laughing and enjoying his Monday. So before he went to bed that night he realizes that Monday's can be days filled with fun and laughs
This would make a good read out loud or bedtime story

What Are Mondays Good For, Anyway?
2 Stars

The book is a little misleading. It looks very much like a toddler's book, but it's for a school-age child. It's very wordy, but all over the place. As a parent, I was excited at the mention of "growth mindset." Though I'm not impressed with the follow-through.
The illustrations are colorful and bright! The characters and art style seem pretty generic. Overall, I'm just a little confused and underwhelmed by this one.

Thank you, NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What Are Mondays Good For is a cute and humorous story about Lennie who wakes grumpy on Monday. Pretty typical of us, after having a fun filled weekend, right? It doesn't take long however for Lennie to find reasons to smile, grin, even laugh as the day goes on. At the end he realizes Mondays aren't so bad. I give it 4 stars because it didn't load correctly for me in Kindle want the pictures were choppy, but the pdf was fine.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book!