Summer of the Monkeys - Paperback

by Wilson Rawls (Author)

From the author of the beloved classic Where the Red Fern Grows comes a timeless adventure about a boy who discovers a tree full of monkeys.

The last thing fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee expects to find while trekking through the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma is a tree full of monkeys. But then Jay learns from his grandpa that the monkeys have escaped from a traveling circus, and there's a big reward for the person who finds and returns them.
His family could really use the money, so Jay sets off, determined to catch them. But by the end of the summer, Jay will have learned a lot more than he bargained for--and not just about monkeys.
From the beloved author of Where the Red Fern Grows comes another memorable adventure novel filled with heart, humor, and excitement.

Honors and Praise for Wilson Rawls' Where the Red Fern Grows

A School Library Journal Top 100 Children's Novel
An NPR Must-Read for Kids Ages 9 to 14
Winner of 4 State Awards
Over 7 million copies in print!

"A rewarding book . . . [with] careful, precise observation, all of it rightly phrased." --The New York Times Book Review

"One of the great classics of children's literature . . . Any child who doesn't get to read this beloved and powerfully emotional book has missed out on an important piece of childhood for the last 40-plus years." --Common Sense Media

"An exciting tale of love and adventure you'll never forget." --School Library Journal

Front Jacket

The last thing a fourteen-year-old boy expects to find along an old Ozark river bottom is a tree full of monkeys. Jay Berry Lee's grandpa had an explanation, of course--as he did for most things. The monkeys had escaped from a traveling circus, and there was a handsome reward in store for anyone who could catch them. Grandpa said there wasn't any animal that couldn't be caught somehow, and Jay Berry started out believing him . . .
But by the end of the "summer of the monkeys," Jay Berry Lee had learned a lot more than he ever bargained for--and not just about monkeys. He learned about faith, and wishes coming true, and knowing what it is you really want. He even learned a little about growing up . . .
This novel, set in rural Oklahoma around the turn of the century, is a heart-warming family story--full of rich detail and delightful characters--about a time and place when miracles were really the simplest of things...

Author Biography

Wilson Rawls was the beloved author of the enduring classic Where the Red Fern Grows and the acclaimed novel Summer of the Monkeys. Born on a small farm in the Ozark Mountains, Rawls spent much of his childhood exploring the hills and river bottoms of northeastern Oklahoma alongside Rowdy, his faithful old bluetick hound--experiences that would later inspire the heartfelt adventures in his fiction.

First published in 1961, Where the Red Fern Grows has become a treasured classic for generations of readers and was adapted into a widely praised motion picture. Rawls' second novel, Summer of the Monkeys, also earned critical acclaim, receiving numerous honors including the prestigious California Young Reader Medal. Wilson Rawls remains one of the most cherished voices in children's literature. He died in 1984 at the age of seventy-one.