The Story & Setting

The Furry Mountain Monkeys of Aspen, Colorado is the kind of book that sounds improbable at first and then, a few pages in, begins to feel like something you may have overlooked on your way to lunch.

Written by Vince Lahey and illustrated by Katie Viola, it’s a rhyming adventure set in Aspen—a town where history, excess, and outdoor ambition have been blending together long enough that a troop of highly organized monkeys feels almost reasonable.

Theme and Atmosphere

The story moves like Aspen does. Part tall tale, part local legend, with just enough detail that you start to wonder if someone at Ajax Tavern has already heard about these monkeys and simply isn’t saying anything. It invites the question Aspen quietly specializes in: what if?

What if the mountains are holding something back.

What if the story didn’t end where you thought it did.

What if you’ve been skiing past something for years without noticing.

The Rocky Mountains show up fully here—snow, mystery, a sense that something is happening just out of view. It’s whimsical, yes, but also grounded in the particular Aspen way of telling stories, where humor and sincerity tend to share the same table, usually around the second glass of wine.

Supporting a Cause

A portion of every sale supports Born Free USA, which means the story points somewhere real. The monkeys may live in a cave, but the mission doesn’t.

Audience Appeal

It works for kids because there are monkeys and movement and a clear sense of adventure. It works for adults because it carries that familiar Aspen undercurrent—the idea that the mountains are always a little more interesting than they first appear.

It’s for Aspen people, Colorado dreamers, and anyone who has ever looked at a mountain and suspected it was keeping something to itself.

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Our Mission

The Furry Mountain Monkeys is built on a simple idea: a story can do more than entertain—it can create real-world impact. At its core, the book tells a story of survival, connection, and unlikely rescue. That same spirit guides how the project operates beyond the page.

We partner with nonprofits whose missions naturally align with the themes woven into the story—animal welfare, primate protection, environmental conservation, childhood resilience, and human compassion. Each partnership is intentional. Each organization reflects a piece of the world the story represents, whether that is protecting wildlife, preserving natural landscapes, supporting vulnerable children, or advancing understanding of how we care for one another.

Through the sale of The Furry Mountain Monkeys, a meaningful portion of proceeds is directed to these organizations. Every book purchased becomes a direct contribution to a cause that matters. Readers are not simply buying a story—they are participating in a larger effort to support and protect the very ideas the story brings to life.

This model is designed to grow. As the story reaches new audiences, new nonprofit partnerships can be formed—each one aligned, each one transparent, and each one connected back to the heart of the book. From Aspen’s mountains to jungles across the world, from hospital rooms to conservation lands, the reach of the story expands through these relationships.

The goal is clarity and integrity: align with the right partners, share the impact openly, and ensure that every sale carries purpose. The Furry Mountain Monkeys stands as a bridge between imagination and action—where a story about survival helps create it.

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