sentences:  The narrative is framed by a series of letters which Max writes to his friend Socrates, in which Max describes his feelings about the events in the story.Like Joanne Horniman's other works, "The Serpentine Belt" (1994) and "Loving Athena" (1997), "Sand Monkeys" features the theme of the search for a lost parent, as well as the forging of strong bonds between characters who are not related by blood.In common with Joanne Horniman's other books, "Sand Monkeys" concerns people's interaction with the natural world - in this case, with the trees that Max raises and plants.