GREEN & GLOVER: Monkey business

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By Stephanie Green and Elizabeth Glover

"Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,

One fell off and bumped his head.

Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,

'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'"

These familiar words from Eileen Christelow's children's book "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" nearly disrupted a quiet and dignified meeting between Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican.

G2 spotted a bevy of reporters at the Russell Senate Office Building (including CNN's Dana Bash and The Washington Times' very own Joe Curl) camped outside Mr. Sessions's office waiting for Judge Sotomayor to emerge from the meeting.

Meanwhile, right around the corner, Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, and Sen. Richard M. Burr, North Carolina Republican, were reading "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" to about 100 schoolchildren at an event for Everybody Wins! DC, a local nonprofit organization that was honoring both lawmakers as well as their staffs for their commitment to children's literacy.

To get the grade schoolers engaged in the book, the organizers of the event invited them to scream at the top of their lungs, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" when the senators got to the refrain. The doors to the room were left open, allowing the howls to echo down the cavernous halls.

Needless to say, the shouts caught the attention of the scribes on Sotomayor duty. "Several reporters laughed at the odd sound of children screaming, and a few walked down to see what the fuss was about," Mr. Curl recalls.

No word on how Mr. Sessions and Judge Sotomayor felt about the high-decibel reading, but Mr. Harkin couldn't have been prouder of the racket he helped foment. "We livened up the halls of Congress with a little bit of noise, and we celebrated another year in a fantastic program that enriches the lives of both the mentors and the students," he said.