The Monkey and the Moonbeam

About the Author

Jonathan Smith was born in Singapore in the days when the jungle still existed and you could hear the howler monkeys call during the long hot evenings. Snakes were often found in the bathtub or wrapped around the car axle. It was therefore a bit of a climate shock to move to Wellington in his early years. Jonathan and his family travelled extensively throughout New Zealand in the family Hillman Hunter, and ended up in Auckland for his high school years. His English grandfather was a fireman and builder, and he was a part of Jonathan’s inspiration when he decided to become an architect at the age of 9, and his studies followed this path. From a young age Jonathan has been fascinated with storytelling in all its fantastic forms, movies, artwork, books, architecture, sculpture, and so on. In his architecture practice they always attempt to create a narrative in their projects, a thread that runs through the design. Writing this story has provided Jonathan with an amazing freedom while also securing a connection to what it once felt like to have the unconstrained mind of a child. Imagination and curiosity are superpowers that children have in abundance, holding onto these gifts can be tricky, especially in today's world of over connectivity and busyness. Jonathan’s son and wife have been the primary inspiration for this story. His son, Nic, was born while they were moving around a lot between Ponsonby and Waterview. From a young age Jonathan and his wife began the ritual of music and story appreciation during bath and bedtimes, this story was distilled during these moments.