Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial

Had this book in my middle school library and thought it was an excellent narration of the historic evolution trial held in America. The historic figures who took part in this trial were written with much detail. The writer's best friend's mother attended the trial and he was able to interview her. His friend's grandfather was part of the decision making process to hold the trial in this particular community. I feel sad that he has not written another book since this book. It is important history in light of what is happening today in our country with the science deniers.

I bought this for my 13-year-old son. He’s a big fan of science and an “eh” fan of reading. He never knew about the court case, so he was shocked and asked a lot of questions. It was a good book to get a discussion going naturally. Overall, I’d recommend it to anyone who’s interested in science, evolution, history, and a good story.

did not realize was a historical fiction youth book. but was most interesting in giving the history surrounding the Scopes Trial. I had heard so much in reference to it, I wanted more facts. Enjoyed it probably more than a transcript of the trial.

Well written book that tells a complex story in the words of a young girl. Excellent purchase.

You know what the bane of a children's librarian's life is? Well-written middle reader titles. You know what I mean. They're those charming tomes with protagonists that are young teens. These books are written with a very definite readership in mind and they are a nightmare to deal with collectionwise. If your local library has a children's section AND a teen section, where do you put a book like, "Monkey Town"? It's so incredibly well-written with interesting facts and some amazing plotting that you're inclined to put it in the children's room. Then again, the character is obviously a teen and we're dealing with some pretty heavy topics in this novel. Evolution. The existence of God. Small town life vs. big city snobbery. This is a coming of age novel in the best sense of the term, but it makes my life a misery. It would have been so much easier to catalogue had the book been badly written or boring. Then I could have just urged the Powers That Be not to purchase it at all. Instead, I'll reluctantly hand it to the Young Adult librarians in my branch and pray that tweens and early teens find it lurking there. Cause until our libraries start creating Middle Reader Librarians and rooms, books like "Monkey Town" will be straddling two entirely different readerships.Frances luuuvs Johnny. Johnny Scopes, that is. Heard of him? Well he's the young college kid who graduated and took a post in fifteen-year-old Frances's high school. She thinks he's dreamy, but he treats her more like a kid sister than the sophisticated dame she'd like to be. Frances loves Johnny but there are other problems apart from their age difference. You see, Frances's father is Frank Earle Robinson, owner of Robinson's Drugs. One day, Mr. Robinson and some of the town leaders come up with a scheme that'll get the city of Dayton, Tennessee a little more publicity. You see, the state of Tennessee makes it illegal to teach evolution in schools. Now the ACLU wants a Tennessee teacher to be a test case that can bring this law to the courts. Mr. Robinson and his friends want that someone to be Johnny Scopes. He taught the kids evolution in the last year, didn't he? Reluctantly Johnny agrees, but only with the given understanding that he'll keep his job in the end. Still, nobody could expect the maelstrom of activity that is brought to bear on this formerly sleepy burg once the trial approaches. And for Frances, the influx of folks from out of town means that she's exposed to new thoughts and ideas. Maybe evolution and creation are not diametrically opposed. Maybe her father isn't as great a guy as she thought he was. And maybe even in a small homey town like Dayton, there's a lot of nastiness that lurks deep in the hearts of even the "nicest" of people."Inherit the Wind" for the kiddie set? Not exactly. The real focus of this novel is on Frances herself. Through her eyes we get to meet all the major players in the Scopes Trial. For example, she hangs out with Johnny for fun and through him meets the larger-than-life H.L. Mencken. Author Ronald Kidd really is at his best when he gives us Mencken, writ large. The man's as pompous and vile-spewing as ever, but with more ugly truths and conflicting tendernesses than you'd find in your average historical fiction for the kiddies. We also meet the great William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, each in their own peculiar particular way. Incorporating real historical figures into a children's book can sometimes feel forced or awkward. Not here. The advantage that, "Monkey Town" has over its historical fiction fellows is the character of Frances Robinson herself. Based on a real woman of the same name, Kidd explains in his Author's Note how he came to meet Ms. Robinson and which parts of this story were true, and which his own. This lends an authenticity to the novel, to say nothing of Kidd's own skills at incorporating the believable with the possible.Truth be told, this really is a story about Frances. It's the old story of a small-town girl curious about the greater world around her. By the end of the book you're sure that soon Frances will get out of Dayton and see the wider world. Maybe she'll go to college! It's with a bittersweet afterthought, then, that one reads the story of the read Frances Robinson. She never left Dayton but instead married the local high school football coach. After a book showing her growth and maturity, it seems more than a little sad to find that the facts of the matter don't line up with the story the author told. That's nobody's fault, of course. It just shows how inconvenient the truth can sometimes be.What Kidd does so well with this book is allow the reader to make up their own mind on the evolution debate. He isn't preaching anymore than Frances is. We see the good and bad of both sides of the debate and are allowed to reason out how we feel as a result. Maybe that's the real beauty of, "Monkey Town". While Frances is dealing with a too too complicated world, we also are seeing the dimensions and two-sides of every character. And Kidd cleverly makes us challenge our own assumptions, even going so far as to play on our worst instincts when it comes to Frances's father. For quite some time he comes off as a particularly well-aligned villain, only to be redeemed in a wholly believable way by the end.If I had to come up with a problem I had with the book, maybe it would involve the factual aspects of the story. I would have loved a nice Bibliography at the back. Failing that, maybe a section outlining exactly what was true and what wasn't with a little more certainty. Instead we get a nice section in which Kidd thanks a whole host of people but doesn't refer us elsewhere. Kids wanting to learn more about the Scopes Trial will have to seek out books and websites on their own, I fear. A bit of a pity.Small potatoes, though. After all, there are plenty of well-cited works of historical fiction out there that haven't half the guts and gall of this little number. A remarkable story, a great book, and definitely a piece of worthwhile reading. Kidd really does harness the innate drama of the real trial for all he's worth. Now to figure out where to put it in my library.... hm....

GRRRRREAT!! Couldn't put down. There are not enough superlatives to describe how wonderful this book retells one of the famous trials of the 20th century in this country. I wish all stories in history could be incorporated into a historical novel of this caliber.Johnny Scopes was just another high school teacher until Mr. Robinson decided that the town of Dayton, Tennessee needed to be better known across the country. His simple plan to get some publicity for the town turned into one of this country's greatest debate over evolution vs. creationism and turned one small town upside down. Mr. Robinson's daughter, Frances, is telling this story and she was infatuated with Johnny Scopes. He considered her a friend throughout the trail and all its escapades.This book is a wonderful way to teach kids how to look at both sides of an argument, and how to evaluate all perspectives of a debate. The author's notes at the end of this book are also very valuable to show students how true circumstances can be fictionalize to give the story a voice.

When fifteen-year-old Frances Robinson becomes caught up in the famous Scopes trial, nothing--neither her town nor her parents nor her own life--will ever be the same. In his latest novel, Monkey Town, Ron Kidd touches on universal themes to recreate a world that not only is past for us today, but also is slipping like sand through the fingers of his main character. Anyone who has lived through the teenage years or is currently fighting through that confusing life stage will recognize the doubts, the disillusionments, and also the discoveries about herself and those around her that Frances encounters during one long, hot summer. In learning that people--even those closest to her--are not always what they seem, she matures from a child to a young woman ready to seek her own destiny in the world. The real strength of this novel is Kidd's portrayal of the complex characters woven into the story and the nostalgic portrayal of small town life in 1920s Tennessee. Both children and adults will thoroughly enjoy this book.