A BOY AND HIS GRANDPA ENGAGE IN SOME MONKEY BUSINESS

My 10-year old nephew is a kindred spirit with me when it comes to good books, and he gets very enthusiastic about giving me recommendations for my blog.  Recently he lent me his copy of Summer of the Monkeys and I could barely put it down!  It shot to the top of my own list of favorites, and I can guarantee that it will engross even the most reluctant readers. This is a touching story, with a satisfying ending.
For Independent Readers: grades 5 and up
As a Family Read Aloud: ages 9 and up 

Book Description: 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...

Why Kids Will Like It: Author Wilson Rawls (who also wrote Where the Red Fern Grows) knows how to draw kids into this action-packed story, writing in the first person from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy named Jay Berry, and sneaking some life lessons into the often hilarious narrative.  His description of the relationship between Jay Berry and his grandpa is poignant and enviable:

My grandpa was one of those old, slow-moving, boy-loving kind of grandpas.  We had been pals for as long as I could remember.  He'd do anything for me, and I'd do anything I could for him.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when, after weeks of trying to figure out how to capture the monkeys (this involved some unbelievable bravery and persistence on the part of Jay Berry), the boy's grandpa decides they need to visit a library, because, "I don't care what kind of a problem a man has, he can always find the answer to it in a library."  They take a trip to town, taking along the boy's ever-faithful companion, his dog "Rowdy".

This excerpt had me laughing out loud:
I had always known that my old hound had a beautiful voice, but I had never heard it ring like it did in that silent library.  The deep tones rolled out over the floor, slammed against the walls, bounced off the ceiling, and made books quiver on the shelves.  Boys and girls all over the place started screaming with laughter.
Like a shot out of a gun, the little lady came from behind the counter and over to Rowdy.  She stopped right in front of him.  With her hands on her hips, she stood there looking at him.  Rowdy thought he had found another friend and was acting like he was very proud of what he had done.  He just sat there, mopping the floor with his tail and panting happily.
I all but turned my chair over as I came up out of it.  I rushed over and grabbed Rowdy's collar with both hands.  I thought the lady would be angry and was going to jump on my dog -- but she wasn't wasn't the least bit made.  I could see a twinkle in her eyes and she was smiling.
"Son", she asked, "is this your dog?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said.
"I've been a librarian here for a good many years," she said, "but this is the first time I've ever had a hound dog ask if he could come in my library.  I'm honored."

Boys and girls alike will get caught up in this story about Jay Berry, his grandpa, his sister Daisy, and his dog - it's an imaginative tale full of adventure, sibling rivalry and love, family, faith, animals, and even some fairy folklore.  I think this quote sums it up quite well:

Grandpa smiled and said, "...You know, an old man like me can teach a young boy like you all the good things in life.  But it takes a young boy like you to teach an old man like me to appreciate all the good things in life.  I guess that's what life's all about."

Amen.

GOOD BOOKS FOR PRETEEN BOYS

My sister suggested I follow up my post GOOD BOOKS FOR TEEN GIRLS with one for teenage boys. But first, I'd like to post a list for preteen boys, because I can't stress enough the importance of getting your boys to discover excellent chapter books early on, so that they stick with it during their busy high school years.  

There are several challenges with getting boys to read.   Boys can be reluctant readers, partly due to the fact that they like action and are risk takers - not something that is necessarily fulfilled by curling up with a good book.  But I think even boys that are eager readers have a hard time sitting still and focusing on a book when there are things like baseballs, basketballs, bugs, bike riding, and buddies vying for their time and attention.

Girls from a young age, on the other hand, tend to be more people-oriented than action oriented. (That must be why we girls love our Jane Austen books!)  I recently came across an interesting article on raising boys vs. girls and their differences, HERE.

Growing up, both of my sons shared a penchant for Legos, action figures, karate, bike riding, exploring, and playing in the mud.  Pretty much typical boys, I'd say.

But in regards to their individual interests, they were pretty different.  My older son was an avid reader, loved science, drawing (especially dinosaurs, sealife, and space), and eventually started making stop-motion movies with our video camera!  My second son - who is four and a half years younger than his older brother, with a sister between them - was active and a reluctant reader.  As a youngster, his idea of art was completing dot-to-dot books. He loved climbing (not just swinging) on our swingset, doing headstands, and playing with balls, trains, and cars - moving on later to a love of the game of basketball, math and numbers, and collecting things (especially basketball cards).  

GOOD MIDDLE READERS FOR BOYS:

Pictured below are books for boys ages 9-12, that I listed in a past post "CHAPTER BOOKS MY SONS LOVED", which can be read HERE. Scroll down to read about some others I've added to my list...

  

  

   

    

Books about SCIENCE and THE WAY THINGS WORK (see my list, HERE)

REDWALL series, by Brian Jacques (read my past post HERE)

MORE CHAPTER BOOKS MY SONS LOVED (for ages 9-12):

THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD series, by Lynne Reid Banks. Exciting, absorbing, and thought provoking story, alive with magic as two boys discover they can bring their toys to life by putting them in an old medicine cabinet that one of them receives - along with a small plastic Indian - for his birthday. They are faced with the responsibility of this tiny person and the consequences of their actions.

THE NEVERENDING STORY by Michael Ende.  Much better than the movie! Bastian embarks on a wild adventure when he enters the magical world of Fantastica, a doomed land filled with dragons, giants, and monsters, and risks his life to save Fantastica by going on a very dangerous quest.

THE SUGAR CREEK GANG (series) by Paul Hutchens.  I had these books recommended by my husband's dad, who grew up on them in the 1940's.  They are like a Christian version of THE HARDY BOYS mysteries. The narrator of the series is Bill Collins, a red-headed freckle-faced boy, who is an only child.  Bill and his "gang" of six friends start the series as 10-year-old 5th graders. By the end of the series, they have aged several years and Bill has picked up a little sister named Charlotte Ann.

   

DETECTIVES IN TOGAS by Henry Winterfield. In this delightful history-mystery, seven boys in Ancient Rome solve strange crimes . . . thanks to some help from their cranky teacher, a little bit of logic, and a lot of amusing misadventure. Yes, Rufus wrote "CAIUS IS A DUMBBELL" on his tablet at school, but no, he did not break into the schoolroom, did not tie up his teacher, and certainly did not paint his slur about Caius on the Temple of Minerva (even if it is in Rufus's own handwriting). Rufus is doomed unless his six classmates can find out who is really responsible. Every hour seems to bring a new, confusing clue . . . until the boys finally stumble upon someone who is not what he appears to be. Also good - MYSTERY OF THE ROMAN RANSOM.

 
THANK YOU, JACKIE ROBINSON by Barbara Cohen (ages 9-12)  This compelling novel isn't just about baseball, but about the warm friendship between a 10-year-old Jewish boy named Sam and an older African American man.  This man, Davy, is a cook at Sam's mother's New Jersey inn.  It's 1947, and they both love the Brooklyn Dodgers.  And they both love Jackie Robinson.  Davy is a cook at Sam's mother's inn.  When Davy has a heart attack, Sam musters up his courage and gets past many obstacles to get Jackie Robinson's autograph on a baseball for Davy, somehow convinced that the ball with make him better.