Summer of the Monkeys — Chapter 12

About This Passage

This is the scene the whole chapter has been building toward — a tree decorated by monkeys with stolen ribbons, and the monkeys themselves still holding the coconuts they came to fetch. Rawls paints the moment like a moving painting. Notice how he layers soft verbs ('stirring,' 'waving,' 'fluttering') against sharp verbs ('gleamed,' 'shimmered') so you can both FEEL the breeze and SEE the flashes of color. The monkeys are perfectly still ('no expression at all on their cute little faces'), which makes the ribbons do all the movement. The blank-faced monkeys and the dancing ribbons together make a picture that is both peaceful and sly — the animals have just pulled off a prank and they are watching to see how the humans will react.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 12 in five sentences. Include Grandpa buying all the coconuts at Wiley Mercantile, Jay Berry meeting Patty and buying gifts for his family, the coconut-face discovery on the ride home, the monkeys trading the coconuts for Jay Berry's old lost things, and Daisy's silent treatment after she learns her ribbons are gone.

Discussion Questions

1. When Patty tries to get Jay Berry to hold her hand, he jumps back and almost shouts at her. Grandpa laughs on the ride home and teases him. What does Jay Berry's reaction tell you about him at this age, and what does Grandpa's laugh tell you about how he sees his grandson?
2. The monkeys did not break or hurt anything. They traded coconuts for Jay Berry's lost britches, traps, and beanshooter, AND they decorated a sycamore tree with Daisy's ribbons. Why is it important that Rawls shows us a TRADE instead of a theft?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide