85 pages 2 hours read

Wilson Rawls

Summer of the Monkeys

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1976

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Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. What is Jay Berry searching for when he finds a monkey?

2. About how many monkeys are in the river bottoms?

3. Where is Daisy when she is surrounded by animals?

4. Who does Daisy claim came to visit her?

5. Which of the circus animals is able to evade Jay Berry’s traps?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the setting of the novel?

2. Why is Jay Berry nervous about the Old Man of the Mountains?

3. What does Jay Berry intend to purchase with the money he would get if he captures the monkeys?

Paired Resource

Sharecropping

  • This article explains sharecropping and the difficulties of those who worked as sharecroppers.
  • This article is connected to Jay Berry’s parents’ history as sharecroppers and the novel’s theme of Perseverance in the Face of Frustration and Failure.
  • How did sharecropping come about? What made sharecropping difficult? What was the social standing of most sharecroppers?

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. Who does Jay Berry determine is the leader of the monkeys?

2.