MONKEY'S TALE

by Nathan; Illus. Susan Perl Kravetz ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 16, 1964

... is more of a fish story. It concerns Sam and Sarah, two laboratory monkeys who are tested for rocket flights into space. Sam is selected for his superior motor control and Sarah is left to pine. She is no slouch herself, and one lonesome night crept off to Sam's rocket where he was encapsulated for conditioning. Inside and outside monkeys spin a few dials-- Woosh-- the U.S. has a monkey unexpectedly in orbit at the same time that Russia has sent up a man. Sort of a Fail Safe episode on a simian scale, they chase each other in Space to the utter confusion of groundling officials in both countries. They go down at the same point and the U.S. picks them both up after the cordial ape helps Soviet Cosmonaut Konev out of the capsule. They are feted in Washington and Moscow and finish with this crack in the Iron Curtain-- ""...thank God for American monkeys,"" whispers the Soviet Cosmonaut. Both story and art suggest a prime example of what sociologists writing at the adult level view with alarm -- the heavy invasion of comic strip story and art into oversimplified versions of cold war encounters.

Pub Date: July 16, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1964

Categories: CHILDREN'S