Roberto Pedro Smith Vásquez is back — and this time, he’s learning that standing up for what you believe in can be more dangerous than falling circus monkeys.
When their teacher Ms. Jackson insists that Roberto and Kiki attend a mandatory “diversity session” they’d rather skip, the two friends make a choice that sends shockwaves through Lincoln Elementary. Roberto declares “I identify as machismo,” while Kiki announces she’s a “Traditional Wife” — words that accidentally reveal feelings they’ve been hiding from themselves and each other.
Suddenly, what started as a simple “no thank you” becomes a battle over who gets to decide what children should think, believe, and value. But Roberto and Kiki are learning from a certain foul-mouthed philosophical monkey about owning your own mind — and they’re not backing down.
As parent-teacher conferences turn into philosophical showdowns and family values clash with institutional agendas, the young couple discovers something even more profound: that reality itself is something we weave, moment by moment, choice by choice. Some people, like their drama-loving neighbor, create realities full of chaos and storms. Others, like Ms. Jackson, try to impose their reality on everyone around them.
But what happens when you learn to see through it all? When you discover that most people experience only 2% of what’s actually happening around them? And what happens when a summer solstice journey to Mexico — complete with traditional raicilla-making, wise burros, and a certain spying crow — opens doorways to realities most adults have forgotten exist?
Join Roberto Pedro, Kiki, and their families as they navigate the treacherous waters of modern childhood while holding onto ancient wisdom. Because in a world where everyone wants to tell you who you are, the most radical act might just be deciding for yourself. And hold Roberto and Kiki’s hands as they venture beyond the veil of reality to meet Juan Pedro deMaria da Silva Junior and Wayism’s High Mountain Story Uncle in another realm of reality.
From the author of the beloved High Mountain Stories comes another irreverent, wise, and utterly unique adventure in conscious living — where Juan Pedro deMaria da Silva Junior’s salty wisdom meets the real challenges facing today’s children and their families.
Ages 10 and up. Also beloved by adults who remember what it feels like to think for themselves.
416 pages. The second book in the Connected to the Universe series — start from the beginning with Life Lessons from a Foul-Mouthed Monkey — Book 1.