For example, she hangs out with Johnny for fun and through him meets the larger-than-life H.L. Through her eyes we get to meet all the major players in the Scopes Trial. The real focus of this novel is on Frances herself. 'Inherit the Wind' for the kiddie set? Not exactly. 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. Maybe her father isn't as great a guy as she thought he was. Maybe evolution and creation are not diametrically opposed. And for Frances, the influx of folks from out of town means that she's exposed to new thoughts and ideas. Still, nobody could expect the maelstrom of activity that is brought to bear on this formerly sleepy burg once the trial approaches. 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. Robinson and his friends want that someone to be Johnny Scopes. Now the ACLU wants a Tennessee teacher to be a test case that can bring this law to the courts. You see, the state of Tennessee makes it illegal to teach evolution in schools. 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, Frances's father is Frank Earle Robinson, owner of Robinson's Drugs. Frances loves Johnny but there are other problems apart from their age difference. She thinks he's dreamy, but he treats her more like a kid sister than the sophisticated dame she'd like to be. Heard of him? Well he's the young college kid who graduated and took a post in fifteen-year-old Frances's high school. Cause until our libraries start creating Middle Reader Librarians and rooms, books like 'Monkey Town' will be straddling two entirely different readerships.įrances luuuvs Johnny. 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. Then I could have just urged the Powers That Be not to purchase it at all.

It would have been so much easier to catalogue had the book been badly written or boring. This is a coming of age novel in the best sense of the term, but it makes my life a misery. Then again, the character is obviously a teen and we're dealing with some pretty heavy topics in this novel. 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. These books are written with a very definite readership in mind and they are a nightmare to deal with collectionwise. They're those charming tomes with protagonists that are young teens. You know what the bane of a children's librarian's life is? Well-written middle reader titles.

Monkey town by ronald kidd