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Telling jokes and "trying tricky tongue twisters" is a great way to spend time with friends and family. People say laughter is the best medicine because it has the power to change your mood for the better!

In Grumpy Monkey, the hyena suggests that Jim Panzee should laugh — because if you are feeling a little grumpy, a good laugh can always help! Check out the jokes and tongue twisters below, and if you are feeling creative you can make up your own monkey jokes, too!


Monkey Around with Jokes!

Who knew there were so many good jokes about monkeys and chimps! Do you think these would cheer up Jim Panzee?


There are two monkeys on a tree and one jumps off. Why does the other monkey jump too?

    Monkey see, monkey do.


What is a monkey's favorite cookie?

    Chocolate chimp


Why did the monkey like the banana?

    Because it had appeal.


What is a chimp's favorite Christmas carol?

    Jungle bells


What do you bring to a jungle party?

    Chimps and dip


What's a chimp's favorite month?

    Ape-ril


What do chimps wear when they are cooking?

    Ape-rons


What do you call a baby monkey?

    A chimp off the old block


What do chimps do when they go mad?

    Go bananas


What did the banana say to the chimp?

    Nothing, bananas don't talk!


What kind of key opens a banana?

    A mon-key


What do you call a monkey that sells potato chips?

    A chipmunk


Why don't monkeys play cards in the jungle?

    There are too many cheetahs around.


How do you make an ape laugh?

    Tell a whale of a tale.


What happens when you throw a banana at two hungry apes?

    A banana split


What do you call a monkey with a banana in each ear?

    Anything you want, it can't hear you.


How does an ape get down the stairs?

    It goes down the banana-ster.


What do you call a monkey that succeeds at every sport?

    A chimpion


What do you call an angry monkey?

    Furious George


a gorilla

Monkey Around with Tongue Twisters!

Try to say these tongue twisters over and over as fast as you can, without making a mistake. Who in your family or class can do it the best?


If eight great apes ate eighty eight grapes, guess how many grapes each great ape ate.


Charlie the chimpanzee eats chips and cheese and chats to a chicken eating chocolate.


Maggie the messy monkey gets mad on Monday.



This activity was created by Lisamaria Martinez for Great Expectations.



Monkeys, Apes, Chimps, and Gorillas

Image from Grumpy book: Jim and Norman sit and smile at each other

Do you know the difference between a monkey, a chimpanzee, an ape, and a gorilla?

  • Monkeys and apes are primates, just like humans!
  • Most types of monkeys have tails and apes do not.
  • Apes swing in trees and most types of monkeys do not.
  • Chimpanzees and gorillas are both a type of ape.
Image from Grumpy book: frog jumps happily

If you liked the monkey jokes and tongue twisters, check out our Animal Games activity. In this game, we explore animal similes and animal idioms.

A simile compares two different things in an interesting way and usually begins with "as" or "like." For example: She was as quiet as a mouse.

Idioms are funny because they don't mean exactly what they say! They have a meaning that is different from the actual words that are used. For example: He took the lion's share means he took the biggest portion.

Funny Words


Words can be part of funny sentences, or they can just be funny on their own. Look at the list of words below and see if you can guess their meanings. If not, grab a dictionary and look them up!

  • blooper
  • zinger
  • gobbledygook
  • mojo
  • doozy
  • amok
  • balderdash
  • slapstick
  • dillydally
  • hodgepodge
  • snafu

Animal Word Scrambles

monkey eating grapes


Unscramble the words below to find the names of the animals. Answers are at the bottom.

  • etirg
  • ccodroile
  • ltuter
  • pgueinn
  • omneyk
  • cotyoe
  • kganoaro
  • sruirqel
  • cchenik
  • helpeant
  • ffirgae
  • lriazd
  • doenyk
  • tcapilerlar
  • ksahr
  • lwahe
  • oinlphd
  • aorilgl
  • hcmuipnk
  • ronfaglyd

(Answers: tiger, crocodile, turtle, penguin, monkey, coyote, kangaroo, squirrel, chicken, elephant, giraffe, lizard, donkey, caterpillar, shark, whale, dolphin, gorilla, chipmunk, dragonfly)



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