Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls (1992, Paperback, Reprint)

This book, along with another by the same author, "Where the Red Fern Grows," was mentioned to me years ago by a relative who grew up the region where the stories are set, the Arkansas-Oklahoma borderland. Since then it has become a favorite of my extended family. I didn't read it myself until I was past 60, but it brought both laughter and tears! It is the last book my sister read to our 96 year old mother, whose earliest years were in almost the same time and place. Both my sister and my wife have read the book out loud to third grade classes, with enthusiastic reception, and I have recommended it to other teachers and students for student reading, from 6th grade through high school.

Besides portraying so beautifully the sense of an earlier era in rural America, the book is a celebration of family, of creativity, of persistence, and of giving. I won't give away the ending, but all the strands of the story are tied together in a beautiful way!

And by the way, don't judge the book by the movie made from it! The movie introduces extraneous characters and fails to catch the heart and spirit of the book's main characters. My sister reported that after hearing the book read to them, a class of third graders watched the movie and after a few minutes said, "Turn it off!"