Summer of the Monkeys By Wilson Rawls

Author: Wilson Rawls
http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a396654/Wilson-Rawls/
Softcover
Library Binding 290 pages
Non-Series
Young Adult 
Published February 1st 1992 by Turtleback Books (first published 1977)

A tree full of monkeys the last thing fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee thought he'd find on one of his treks through Oklahoma's Cherokee Ozarks. Jay learns from his grandfather that the monkeys have escaped from a circus and there is a big reward for anyone who finds them. He knows how much his family needs the money. Jay is determined to catch the monkeys. It's a summer of thrills and dangers no one will ever forget.  Description taken from www.goodreads.com

May Contain Spoilers!

Back in the fifth grade I had the most amazing teacher! Everyday after lunch recess, to help us wind down, she would have us sit at our desks and read us a chapter out of her favorite books.  One of these happened to be Summer of the Monkeys! I had forgotten all about it until I was at the library a few weeks ago and happened onto the book while looking around. When I saw it I could immediately hear my teacher's voice talking about monkeys, apples, and gunny sacks! It brought back great memories, so I decided to check it out and have a read! 

It has been a while since fifth grade, so most of the story was lost on me. When I picked it up to start reading, I could only think "How in the world are they going to make a WHOLE book about monkeys? There can only be so many ways to try to catch them!" Let me tell you now, this story is more than just about monkeys! In reading the book I was surprised how little interactions there actually are with them. To me the book was more about this Jay Berry and the interactions with his family and learning to appreciate the relationships he has with them. 

Jay Berry is 14  years old and living in the Ozarks with his family in the late 1800's. One summer, he runs into a bunch of monkeys while in the creek bottoms near his home. He runs off to tell his family, and he learns from his grandpa that they are most likely monkeys from a traveling circus that had gotten away from the train after it had wrecked. They start plotting ways to catch the monkeys in order for Jay Berry to collect the reward money to buy a horse and a .22. The reward is two dollars for each of the smaller monkeys and one hundred for the larger. They can't think of any reason that one monkey could be worth so much money, until they try to catch him! They soon find out that catching these monkeys is NOT going to be so easy! 

There were a lot of things that I loved about this book. For example, the relationship that Jay Berry has with his sister. She is very much the dreamer, and at times I feel that he really envy's that in her, even though a lot of the time he is giving her a hard time over it. Some of the most funny moments come from their interactions together as she is the typical care taking sister. Every time there is an illness, she dons her Red Cross 'nursing uniform' and gets to work doctoring everyone up. 

Jay Berry's ol' dog Rowdy is also a high light in this book! There were a lot of times I giggled right out loud at Jay Berry's reaction to some of this dogs reactions to the monkeys and the situations they put them in.  

There are a lot of great moments in this story-especially the one's where you can see the little boy in Jay Berry kind of at odds with the thoughtful young man that he is turning into. He really takes a journey in this book. He learns a lot about persistence and prioritizing what is important in life. Even if it means sacrificing and making hard decisions. 

I won't go into too much detail, I think you need to discover this gem for yourself! It is highly recommended for all ages!