A year or so ago, I reread Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls. And fell in love with the book all over again. Rawls captures boy-innocence and rambunctiousness from a bygone era, when roaming the woods around your farm felt safe, you feared disappointing your parents more than anything else, and you got along swimmingly with your grandfather, who lived a few miles down the road.
I know we don't live in simple times like these anymore. So it's nice to visit them. And, like many authors who bring us to different worlds, Rawls makes you feel like you're walking alongside Billy or Jay Berry through each of their adventures.
I strongly encourage you to read these aloud to your students. They need to be introduced by you, because like much of historical fiction, the beginning chapters start off a little more slowly to set the stage for later events. Once you get going, the books are hard to put down!
The language is rich and lush and the challenges are thoughtful, but not fraught with the kinds of tension most kids experience today. It's easy to escape into the Ozark mountains with either of these boys. You might enjoy escaping with your students to these simpler times!
- Read my book review about Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson here.
- Read my book review of The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz here.
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