A ballerina, a gladiator, a camper, a baseball player, a surfer, and a shopper; these are just a few of the amazing monkeys that the author's seventh graders created from papier-mache. This project provided an opportunity for students to express themselves through the creation of sculptural characters based on their own interests, hobbies, and dreams. Not only did this project enable students to explore a variety of ideas, it also appealed to their desire for self-expression and humor. Students explored multiple solutions and interpretations of what their monkeys could become. Ideas ranged from sports figures to future careers, from hobbies to literary figures, and just about everything in between. In this article, the author describes how her students created these papier-mache sculptures.