This has been my favorite book ever since I was young, but reading it and analyzing it as a teacher has made me like it more. This was true when I was young and is true now that I love the illustrations. They are detailed and realistic. They are also really good for students to look at to make predictions. There are several pictures of the magic guitar, the Jolly Mon traveling, and all the people he makes happy. The overall message is to help people and make them happy. This is shown throughout the book when the Jolly Mon travels from island to island to make his beautiful music to make the people happy. ( )

The Jolly Mon, by Jimmy Buffet, is a story based on happiness. The big picture to this book is very simple, be happy and don't worry about the bad things in life. I love this book even though it's a very simple book, when I was small my mom would read this to me after a hard day at work, mostly because she liked it. As an adult myself now I can see how a stressful life can be calmed and relaxed after reading this book. One of the best parts of this book are the pictures, the illustrations in the book are beautiful works of art. Every page has a different picture of a different beautiful Caribbean ocean scene, yet another reason why I think my mom loved reading me this book. These pictures were not only wonderful but they enhance the already peaceful story. One thing I do not like is the plot, the story goes very well till near the end, when a dolphin comes out of the ocean and saves the Jolly Mon when he's drowning, then the dolphin tells him to climb on his back and he carries him home. The story is realistic and reasonable till this point which to me makes the idea of being as happy as he is more of a fantasy than reality. ( )

This was a staple of my son's childhood- more for me than him, though he did pay attention when the dolphin was in the picture. I think it's a sweet story, and I should look it up again. ( )

One of my all-time favorite books, seriously. I *STILL* have the song memorized, and I re-read the book at least once a year. The illustrations are wonderful and I love love LOVE the story. ( )

I thought this was an excellent book on culture, the illustration in this book was excellent. it was a very friendly and loving book to read to children. they really enjoyed the story and the picture and was excited to see what was going to happen next.