There were not many similarities from the Summer of the Monkeys book and the movie. Most of the same characters were in the movie and the book. Grandpa did have a store. Jay Berry wanted a Paint Pony really bad in both. Daisy was still a cripple. The train wreck was what caused the monkeys to leave in both. The family was very poor and Jay Berry did give his money to Daisy so she could get her leg fixed.

There were a lot more differences than similarities. Jay Berry never got his gun or borrowed a horse for the morning. The pony was not a paint pony either. Jay Berry never got drunk or lost his britches. There were only four monkeys instead of twenty-nine. The monkeys were not as much money as they were in the book. They added on the characters Toby, Philip, Joubert, and Bayliss Hatcher. They did not go to the mercantile or meet a girl named Patricia (which was my favorite part). All four of the monkeys were chimpanzees, when in the book there was only one. They did not even have the same names for the monkeys. It is supposed to be Jimbo not Henri and the horse’s name is Dolly not Annie. They also got the mom’s name wrong.  Grandpa was not as involved as he was in the book. They said Rowdy went everywhere with Jay Berry but in the movie he was barely ever with Jay Berry and Rowdy never ever gets hit with a trap in the book. Jay Berry never had a cape in the book either.

There are many suggestions I can give to the movie and the book.  I liked the part in the movie with Phillip but the movie does not need to add the Hatcher guy. The book was great overall, but I think there could be the Phillip character. Papa and Jay Berry needed a better relationship in the movie. The movie also needs to use the right names it is not that hard. Overall, if you are going to make a movie it needs to follow the book. The movie would have been okay if I did not just read the book though, but still a pretty bad movie. I have seen Disney do a lot better than that movie. Overall, the movie was trash. There was no need to make that movie.