The Murderer's Ape

Gr 7 Up—Sally Jones works hard, remains hopelessly devoted to her friends even in the darkest of times, and always tries to do the right thing. She is an exceptional engineer, accordion technician, chess player, and airplane mechanic. She's also an herbivorous ape. It is from the typewriter of the indomitable Sally Jones that we learn of her travels at sea, the truth about how her beloved companion is wrongly imprisoned for murder, and her harrowing quest to free him. Kimberly Farr's exceptional, fully voiced narration includes male and female characters with accents from locations ranging from Portugal to India. Her representation of accents is always respectful and never stereotypical (even if the characters sometimes are). It is always clear who is speaking, and Farr even manages to inflect her voice to indicate a lie, hesitation, suppressed joy, and a host of other emotions.