Published: March 21, 2008 12:43 pm         

Summer of the Monkey is funny, heartwarming reading

Wilson Rawls captures the innocence and fun of a boy growing up in “Summer of the Monkeys.”

Jay Berry Lee, 14, loves living on a farm in the Cherokee Ozarks in the late 1800s with his parents and twin sister, Daisy. He figures his life would be perfect if his sister Daisy could get the operation she needs to straighten out her crippled leg and if he had a pony of his own to ride and a .22 rifle he can shoot. When he finds a bunch of monkeys in the river bottoms near his farm, Jay Berry figures he’s found a way he can get his pony and rifle.

Jay Berry’s Grandpa tells him the monkeys escaped during a train accident and there’s about 30 of them running loose. The best part is their owner has a reward out for them: $2 for each of the little monkeys and $100 for the chimpanzee that’s with them. That’s a lot of money all at one time and more than enough for Jay Berry to get his pony and a rifle.

But catching those monkeys isn’t easy, as Jay Berry learns all too well. He doesn’t realize how smart that chimp is until he sees it with his own eyes. Everything Jay Berry thinks up, that chimp figures out and keeps the other monkeys out of trouble. Jay Berry even enlists Grandpa’s help, but with the same results.

Jay Berry’s pretty frustrated. He really wants that reward money, but he has no idea how to capture those monkeys.

Before Jay Berry can figure it all out, a violent thunderstorm rips through the countryside.

Did all the monkeys drown? If that’s the case, Jay Berry has lost all hope of getting his pony and rifle.

Wilson Rawls has an easy story-telling style and writes a very likable lead character.

Jay Berry Lee is all boy, hunting, fishing, and running all over the bottoms with his trusty hound dog, Rowdy. It’s amusing to follow him on his adventures as he tries to outsmart the monkeys and trap them for the reward money.

Jay Berry is smart, resourceful and athletic — the type of boy that other boys will admire. I think this is a book that boys will enjoy reading because they can learn a lot about dogs, monkeys, the outdoors and trapping.

Jay Berry’s father and grandpa are steady influences in his life and he can talk to them and they will listen to him and take him seriously.

His mother and sister are another story.

Jay Berry’s mother constantly worries about him. Every time he gets out of her sight, she thinks he’s going to get eaten up by a wild beast or come down with an incurable disease. She forbids him about five times from going down to the bottoms and messing with those monkeys, but changes her mind. She also doesn’t believe Jay Berry sometimes when he explains things to her, even though he’s not lying.

Any boy with a sister will understand what Daisy puts Jay Berry through. She tells stories about the Old Man of the Mountains and how he punishes boys who harm animals, knowing full well that her brother has hunted animals. She also yells for her mother whenever she catches Jay Berry in a compromising situation.

But Jay Berry loves them all and the family unit is a strong one.

There’s a little “magic” and superstition involved in the plot, but like the rest of the story, it’s done innocently, like the faith of a child, and helps the story come to a heart-warming conclusion.

If you’d like to read a story about a simpler time when perseverance paid off, families supported each other, and wishes really could come true, pick up “Summer of the Monkeys” by Wilson Rawls. Share it with the whole family.



Title: Summer of the Monkeys (1976)

Author: Wilson Rawls

Publisher: Dell

Genre: young adult fiction

Age appropriate: 8 and older

Language: None.

Sex: None. Jay Berry Lee, 14, is more interested in ponies and rifles than girls.

Violence/Behavior: Animals attacking. The most innocent and funny episode of drunkenness you’ve ever read. Legends about the Old Man of the Mountains and fairy rings.

Comments: Wilson Rawls is probably better known as the author of “Where the Red Fern Grows”.

Rawls was born Sept. 24, 1913, and died Dec. 16, 1984.

“Summer of the Monkeys” was made into a Disney movie in 1998 starring Corey Sevier as Jay Berry Lee; Michael Ontkean as his father, John Lee (his name in the book is Bob); and Wilford Brimley as his grandpa, Sam Ferrans.

For more information, you can visit google.com and type in “Summer of the Monkeys”.