Summer of the Monkeys

by Wilson Rawls

Reviewed by Joshua Fong

REVIEW: Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

ISBN Number : 9780553540536

THE STORY:

Jay Berry Lee, a 14 year old boy, lives in the Ozark Mountains in Oklahoma during the late 1800s. He lives on a farm with his parents and his crippled younger sister, Daisy. His family acquired this land through his grandparents because his grandfather is a trader and won this land. One day, Jay Berry goes to the “bottoms” to look for a missing dairy cow. While looking for her, his dog, Rowdy, starts
barking and he wonders what is happening. When he looks over at Rowdy, he sees a curious face staring out at him. At that point, he discovers that this is a monkey’s face. Fascinated by this discovery, he goes to ask his trustworthy grandfather for help. His grandfather tells him that this monkey is part of a group of monkeys that escaped from a circus truck. The circus is offering a reward for these monkeys and offers two dollars per monkey. Among these monkeys, there is a large monkey, who is the ringleader, and is worth one hundred dollars. After hearing this, Jay Berry becomes consumed with thought about monkeys and he tries to capture the monkeys in any way he can in order to get money for a .22 gun and a pony. After trying to do so in numerous ways, he finds that they are very intelligent, especially the one hundred dollar monkey. In the end, after advice from his grandfather, he decides to befriend the monkeys in order to try to catch them. Moreover, he decides that if he found the monkeys, he would spend it on his sister so that she could get treatment for her crippled leg. In trying to do so, he is faced with several unfortunate circumstances in which his attempts at befriending the monkeys might be for nothing. (300)

MY OPINION:

I thought that this book would be a slightly childish book to read because of the involvement of monkeys and the fact that monkeys are stereotypically seen as silly creatures with no care for the world. However, the book turned out to be a lesson about morals and how interesting events in your life can always turn in your favor, no matter how bad they seem. This story also shows how much influence money had in the late 1800s since people were willing to sacrifice a lot of time to earn the money they needed. Although it was extremely hard to catch the monkeys, Jay Berry was able to split his time up helping at the farm and also looking for the monkeys. This book also shows that if you are determined about doing things, you will be able to accomplish anything. As much as the book intrigued me, it also had some weak points. For example, the vocabulary they used was not very complex. If I were to suggest this to an audience, I would suggest it to middle school readers because it demonstrates a story about giving up selfishness to help others you love. Overall, I would rate this book an eight out of ten stars because it has a good plot, but the vocabulary is lacking. (219)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. What is the main character’s name?

1a.  The main character’s name is Jay Berry Lee. (pg 7)

2. Why does Jay Berry go down into “the bottoms” and what does he find there?

2a.  He goes down to the bottoms because he is looking for a cow that ran away from his family’s farm. While he is looking for the cow, his dog leads him to a tree with a monkey in it. (pg 7~9)

3. Who did Jay Berry go to for help regarding the monkeys?

3a.  He asked his grandfather for help. (pg 16)

4. All of the circus monkeys, but one, are worth two dollars apiece. How much is the last one worth?

4a.  The last monkey is worth one hundred dollars. (pg 21)

5. Who did Jay Berry test his net on before the monkeys?

5a.  He tested his net on Gandy, a despised gander duck. (pg 82)

Sharecropping (pg 2)

Rigid (pg 10)

Lobe (pg 22)

Didos (pg 22)

Briers (pg 59)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. How does Daisy describe Jay Berry Lee and his dog, Rowdy, when they come back from being bit by monkeys?

6a. Daisy says they both “look like [they]’ve been run through a brier patch.”(pg 107)

7. What is Daisy concerned about, that Jay Berry keeps taking to try and capture the monkeys?

7a. Daisy says that Jay Berry is feeding too many apples to the monkeys. (pg 121)

8. Why did Jay Berry come home drunk?

8a. He was drunk because in his attempt to befriend the monkeys, he drinks sour mash and becomes drunk. (pg 131)

9. What did the monkeys take from Jay Berry as he lay asleep?

9a. The monkeys took his britches while he was asleep.(pg 131)

10. Where does Jay Berry go with his grandpa in order to find information on catching monkeys?

10a. Jay Berry goes with his grandpa to the library to find books on catching monkeys. (pg 159)

Squall (pg 124)

Fermenting (pg 137)

Buggy (pg 155)

Buckboard (pg 164)

Underbrush (pg 171)

                               

LAST SECTION

11. When did Jay Berry Lee get wet and sick for a whole month?

11a. When he fell into a well while trying to fix it’s pulley. (pg 190)

12. Why did Daisy call everyone over to her playhouse?

12a. She had found a fairy ring, an even ring of mushrooms, which is believed to be the resting place of fairies. It is said that if you kneel in the center of it, and make a wish, that that wish would come true. (pg 196)

13. What did Jay Berry wish for in the fairy ring?

13a. He wished that his sister’s crippled leg would be healed. (pg 202)

14. After a big storm, Jay Berry went looking for the monkeys, but could not find them. How did he end up finding them?

14a. He heard the whimper of a suffering animal. (pg 211)

15. How did Jay Berry Lee get the monkeys to follow him to the corn crib?

15a. He dried the monkeys with his shirt and, knowing that he meant well, Jimbo, the lead monkey, followed him to the corn crib, as the little monkeys leaped alongside them. (pg 214~216)

Anvil (pg 191)

Whippoorwill (pg 199)

Shucks (pg 219)

Streamlined (pg 239)

Skillet (pg 255)