Play Audiobook Sample
Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.04) - 241 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
School is out in the summer of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. For Frances Robinson, a fifteen-year-old daydreamer with a crush on her teacher, John T. Scopes, summer vacation promises tennis, and Coca-Colas from her father's drug store. But when Frances's father, the school board chairman, has Scopes arrested for teaching evolution, the sleepiest place on earth becomes a hotbed for famous thinkers, including H. L. Mencken, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan. Overnight the world is flocking to Dayton to decide: Are people really descended from monkeys? Does the theory of evolution have a place in biology class? As Frances sees the man she loves crumbling beside her, she begins to question her town, her neighbors, and the father she has always trusted.
Download and start listening now!
"This was a rather interesting book that would most likely be targeted to a middle school aged students. The book is told from the view point of a fifteen-year-old girl in the 1920's. The town is in search of more publicity to bring more people into their small town. To do this, they arrest a young teacher for teaching a small segment in a biology class over Evolution. The entire arrest was staged as well as the trial that followed. The town promised that Mr. Scopes, the teacher who was arrested, wouldn't be hurt or affected by this trial but in reality he was. The town ultimately got what they wanted because the trial attracted some very prominent people into their town who wanted to be a part of the trial as well as bringing in many other civilians. The book brings up many different points of view on religion and evolution which would make this a fairly controversial book in the class room. Although it was a really good book it would depend on the stipulations that schools my have when it comes to presenting this book to a classroom. It definitely would make students think about their religious views which many parents and administrators would most likely have issues with. Therefore, I may suggest this as a good book for students to read on their own but I don't believe that I would probably choose to use this as a book in the classroom."
— Kimberlynn (5 out of 5 stars)
Monkey Town Listener Reviews
-
" gives you a look into the great years of history "
— Omgitsapenguin, 2/4/2014 -
" This is the fictionalization of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" that occurred in the 1920s. Teenager Frances is the daughter of the town drugstore owner, who stirs up the controversy over John Scopes' teaching of evolution in a local school just to generate publicity and noteriety for the town in Tennessee. Frances tells the story of Clarence Darrow coming to defend Mr. Scopes (on whom she has a little crush), and William Jennings Bryan coming to town to prosecute. She also runs into H.L. Mencken who is one of the many journalists who have come to town to cover the trial. A well-told story. "
— Librarian, 2/1/2014 -
" A little plodding at times, but overall an engaging fictionalization of the Scopes trial, as witnessed through the eyes of a 15 year old girl. I'm not much for historical fiction, so it's hard for me to judge the quality compared to other similar books, but I was interested from start to finish, cared about the main characters, and felt like I learned a thing or two. "
— Samantha, 1/27/2014 -
" kind of unmemoralble, still a fun fictional account of the scopes trial and how it changed as it progressed. "
— Caitlinleah, 1/20/2014 -
" #34- This is historical fiction about the John Scopes, Evolution in the classroom trial. The main character was based on a real teenager who lived through it. This is a good coming of age book. "
— Dianna, 1/3/2014 -
" The review printed on the front of the book says "reminiscent of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird." Kinda, sorta. I really wouldn't go that far. Still, it is a well-researched historical fiction novel, which gives even-handed insight into the 1925 Scopes trial. "
— Jean, 11/2/2013 -
" The book got off to a slow start, but I found it very interesting in learning some background to the Scopes Trial that is pretty amazing. "
— Mary, 10/26/2013 -
" second time around it kind of stunk "
— Kiiks, 7/31/2013 -
" This was a historical fiction version of the Scopes evolution trial. It was intersting but a bit shallow. It wasn't that believeable that the 16 year old girl was in love with the teacher on trial. There were also too many characters to keep up with. "
— Malissa, 7/10/2013 -
" A young girl learns that there are many ideas, not just those of people of her small town. "
— Karen, 5/20/2013 -
" Readers will get caught up in the fervor the the Scopes Trial along with 15-year-old Frances Robinson who finds herself caught in the middle between her father's and her teacher's views of evolution. "
— Sharon, 12/15/2012 -
" Brings up the question of Creation vs Evolution but the book doesn't take a stand either way. The ending is very anti-climatic. "
— Derek, 4/16/2012 -
" this book would be fun to teach in certain kinds of middle schools... the debate between evolution & creation, coming of age, moving from black&white to accepting gray areas in life "
— Katie, 1/25/2012 -
" (audiobook) The Scopes Monkey Trial has been coming up a lot recently. Wonder what's up with that. Good YA lit -- I have a lot to look into. "
— Jill, 10/15/2011 -
" This book illustrates for young people the idea that some of our 'finest' moments are engineered to serve someone's agenda. Cynicism for the very young. I enjoyed the afterword, in which Kidd talks about his inspiration for writing the book being fueled by meeting Frances. "
— Valerie, 8/14/2011 -
" Good story set in the small town where the Scopes Monkey Trial was held. I liked the characters and the pacing of the novel. Well written and intriguing, sometime hard to do with historical fiction. "
— Julie, 8/13/2011 -
" (audiobook) The Scopes Monkey Trial has been coming up a lot recently. Wonder what's up with that. Good YA lit -- I have a lot to look into. "
— Jill, 1/26/2011 -
" kind of unmemoralble, still a fun fictional account of the scopes trial and how it changed as it progressed. "
— Caitlinleah, 1/2/2011 -
" #34- This is historical fiction about the John Scopes, Evolution in the classroom trial. The main character was based on a real teenager who lived through it. This is a good coming of age book. "
— Dianna, 7/6/2010 -
" Good story set in the small town where the Scopes Monkey Trial was held. I liked the characters and the pacing of the novel. Well written and intriguing, sometime hard to do with historical fiction. "
— Julie, 3/24/2010 -
" This was a historical fiction version of the Scopes evolution trial. It was intersting but a bit shallow. It wasn't that believeable that the 16 year old girl was in love with the teacher on trial. There were also too many characters to keep up with. "
— Malissa, 2/21/2010 -
" This was a fantastic book! I enjoyed it immensely. It is a firsthand account of a young girl who witnesses the Scopes Trial. I wrote a report about it for school. Well-written, funny at times, and fairly accurate. I wish I had been there. "
— Kiiks, 8/11/2009 -
" Readers will get caught up in the fervor the the Scopes Trial along with 15-year-old Frances Robinson who finds herself caught in the middle between her father's and her teacher's views of evolution. "
— Sharon, 8/3/2009