It is shown that an algebraic polynomial of degree ⩽k−1 which interpolates ak-monotone functionfatkpoints, sufficiently approximates it, even if the points of interpolation are close to each other. It is well known that this result is not true in general for non-k-monotone functions. As an application, we prove a (positive) result on simultaneous approximation of ak-monotone function and its derivatives inLp, 0