Customer Reviews

Summer of the Monkeys

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's the late 1800's and fourteen year old JayBerry Lee is stirring up aload of trouble when he finds out that thirty monkeys have escaped from the circus in the bottom of the Oklahoma Ozarks.The circus is giving two dollars for every monkey he catches and one-hundred dollars for the big monkey,Jimbo.JayBerry figures out that there is no monkey business when it comes to catching monkeys.
I'm not going to lie it took forever to read this book on the account of it was boring at the beginning.And then when I finally got passed the beginning I couldn't put it down.Willson Rawls tells the story very slow but it has a great message.

Jay Berry is your typical country boy. With his faithful, bluetick hound dog Rowday, Jay Berry delights in roaming the creek bottoms near his home in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. His happy, carefree life takes a sudden turn when he and Rowdy meet up with a troop of escaped circus monkeys out in the woods.

Eager to get the reward for catching the monkeys, Jay Berry enlists the aid of his "old, slow-movin', boy lovin'" grandpa. Together they hatch up some unique plots for capturing the devilish little beasts. But they find out that the monkeys are smarther than they thought -- maybe even smarter than they are.

You'll find yourself laughing out loud at the antics of Jay Berry and his animal friends. But you may also find yourself shedding a tear or two as Jay Berry learns a lesson that shatters a lifetime dream.

In my opinion, Wilson Rawls has written the perfect young adult novel. The mixture of humor, love, family relationships, adventure and magic make for engrossing reading. There is literally never a dull moment in theis wonderful book.

I first read this book in 5th grade and I loved it. However, a few years ago a movie came out, which saddened me, it left out and changed a lot of the parts that made me love the book. So yes, the book is great. It has adventure, love, sadness, strength, courage, and a remarkable tale of a boy's journey to learn the value of family. But you won't get everything out of the movie. So I encourage you to read the book, you won't be disappointed.

I thought that Summer Of The Monkeys was the best book that I have ever read. I would give it five stars because the author gives you a lot of description and leaves you hanging wondering what is going to happen. He write the book so once you start you can't stop. In the book Jay Berry is hunting for monkeys that have escaped from the circus. The monkeys are so smart that they know what he is going to try to do to trap them. The monkeys are constantly wrecking his traps and his ideas. There is a reward for who ever catches the monkeys. The only thing he wants to buy with the reward is a pony and .22 (a gun). The reward is two hundred dollars. His sister has a disabled leg that she can't use, and it cost two hundred dollars to fix. His grandparents and parents think that it is more important to pay for her. He continues to hunt for the monkeys so that he can get the money. The more he hunts the more trouble the monkeys get him into. I do think it is the best book I have ever read. I think the author does a great job at leaving you hanging. Wilson Rawls' other great book is Where The Red Fern Grows. It is also a great book just like this one! I would highly recommend Summer Of The Monkeys to you.

Jay Berry Lee, age 14, lives on a farm in the Ozarks. One day, he and his dog, Rowdy, find a poster saying that a circus train crashed and all the monkeys are loose! There is a huge reward for the monkeys, so Jay decides to hunt those monkeys down. Jay has many adventures with the monkeys, because these are no dumb monkeys. These are specially trained circus monkeys, and they have a really smart leader. Jay tries traps and nets, but neither of those work. The monkeys manage to outsmart him and get him in trouble every time. Then there is a huge storm, which changes everything. Jay has a dilemma, though. If he gets the reward money, will he use it to buy himself a horse, or will he give it to his sister to fix her crippled leg?

This book was so cute. I read it on an airplane, and when I got to Montreal, I didn't want to go out and sightsee because I was busy reading this great book. The characters are so deep in this book; you can tell exactly what Jay is feeling and thinking, and you really get to love him. The story is very original, and extremely well written. I have read this book so many times, and I love it more each time. It is funny and loveable, but not shallow at all. This sounds cliche, but it's a real heartwarming story.

The Summer Of the Monkeys is a very funny book about a boy named Jay Barry who tries to catch a bunch of monkeys. Jay was in the river bottoms near his house when he saw some monkeys in a tree. He was really surprised and ran home. His dad didn't believe him so he ran to his grandpa's store. His grandpa told him that a circus train got into a wreck and about thirty monkeys escaped. Jay tried to catch the monkeys maney times but the monkeys always out smarted him. Finally, after many tries he Jay Barry suceeded. I would recomend this book to anybody who read Where the Red Fern Grows or any other books by Wilso Rawls. I really liked this book because it made me laugh and it had intresting parts in it too.

I read this book when I was in 5th grade, and now 23 years later I read it again. I enjoyed this book as much now as I did when I was 10.

Jay Berry is a lively character who has a love for the outdoors and a real sense of adventure. Jay Berry does not need a lot in life, only his dog and good weather. Oh, and he also needs a pony and a .22 but he has resigned himself to not getting either item since his family are farmers and not very rich. It's not a fate that he likes, but he accepts it. Until he discovers monkeys living in the river bottom.

There is a reward for the monkeys and suddenly Jay Berry wakes up each day with dollar signs in his eyes and a motivation so strong that it keeps him going back again and again even though he fails each time he tries to catch a monkey.

This novel is a delightful tale that will have readers young and old laughing at the monkeys and sympathizing with Jay Berry's plight. And if there aren't tears in your eyes when you finish the book then you don't have a soul. Jay Berry does a lot of growing up in that summer and becomes a 14-year old man rather than the 14-year old boy he was at the start of the summer.

An excellent book to read on a lazy afternoon swinging in a hammock and enjoying the sunshine. Wilson Rawls captures a sense and side to life that is old-fashined these days, but very refreshing to go back too.

This was a wonderful story that everyone should read. All parents should read this for yourselves and to your kids! It truly demonstrates the wonderful bonds of a family. I laughed, I cried and felt good all over. Take the time and read this book!

Wilson Rawls (author of WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS)has done it again, in this delightful tale of a poor family from rural Oklahoma in the early 1900's. Fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee lives through incredible events and a rollercoaster of emotions as he comes of age, during one unforgettable summer near the river bottoms in former Cherokee territory.

Much more than a kid-and-his-dog story, this book will make you chuckle and groan with frustration, as Jay and his smart-as-a-coot Grandpa wrack their brains to catch some 30 monkeys which have escaped the circus after a train wreck. Lured on by the generous reward offer, Jay becomes obsessed with trapping the little fellows--in order to achieve a country boy's dream of his own pony and .22 gun. But those simian rascals prove too human-savvy to be caught; time and again they outsmart the best laid plans--all because they are protected by a fiendishly clever chimpanzee.

Then there is Jay's twin sister, Daisy--crippled since birth. Nevertheless she is always cheerful, has a way with animals, tells great stories and teases him mercilessly. Woe to all who fall under her nurturing care, as she dons her Red Cross "uniform" and goes into high nursing mode! Hey, is there really an Old Man of the Mountains, who can cause good or bad luck to a family? This is a warm and fascinating read about setting goals, not giving up easily and the value of family relationships. For kids of all ages, especially if you believe in Fairy Rings...

My 8 yr old daughter (a very good reader) loves this book!! She first read Where the Red Fern Grows and loved that. She was inspired to read this one and loves it even more! She may be a good reader, but she is picky. She says that Wilson Rawls makes her feel like she is really there.

edit / add on: After my daughter read the book I picked it up one day. I too enjoyed the book. I felt that I could predict what was coming in the story, but I enjoyed it just the same. The overall plot / storyline was a bit unusual. The story moved along at a good pace and wasn't too bogged down with endless details. Good book, both of us recommend it.