Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business Read online

  Then my friend Lucille raised her hand.

  “I’ve got one, too,” she said. “Sometimes my nanna calls my daddy a couch potato. Only he’s not a real potato. He’s just a lazy bum.”

  “Yeah, and I’m not a big pig,” said my new boyfriend Ricardo. “But my mom says I eat like one.”

  After that, a whole bunch of other kids said they eat like big pigs, too.

  Only a boy named Donald said he eats like a horse.

  And crybaby William eats like a bird.

  Just then it was time for the bell to ring. And so me and Principal said bye-bye to each other. And I went to my seat.

  Then I gave Lucille back her red chair. She was very nice to me.

  “I’m sorry that your brother isn’t a real monkey, Junie B.,” she said.

  “Thank you, Lucille,” I said. “I’m sorry that your daddy isn’t a real potato, too.”

  After that, the bell rang for us to go home. And so me and Lucille and that Grace held hands. And we walked outside together.

  Only then a very wonderful thing happened!

  And it’s called—I heard my mother’s voice!

  “JUNIE B.! JUNIE B.! OVER HERE, HONEY. DADDY AND I ARE OVER HERE!”

  Then I looked in the parking lot. And I saw her! And so I runned to her speedy quick. And then me and Mother hugged and hugged. Because I hadn’t seen her for a very whole day!

  Then my daddy got out of the car. And he had a little yellow blanket in his arms. And guess what was in that thing?

  My new baby brother, that’s what!

  He was very teeny. And pinkish. Except his head had a lot of black hair on it.

  I touched it. It felt like fuzzy.

  Just then Ricardo walked by. And he saw my teeny brother.

  “Cool hair,” he said.

  I smiled very big. “I know it, Ricardo,” I said. “And guess what else? He doesn’t even smell like P.U.”

  After that I got in the car. And I told Mother about Lucille’s locket. And she said maybe I could get a locket, too. And I could put my brother’s teeny head in there.

  “Yes. And I would also like some pink high tops, please,” I said very polite.

  “Maybe,” said Mother.

  “Oh boy!” I said.

  ’Cause maybe doesn’t mean no! That’s why!

  And so then I lifted up the blanket. And I peeped at my baby brother one more time.

  “So what do you think of him, Junie B.?” said Mother.

  I smiled very big. “I think he’s the cutest little monkey I ever saw,” I said.

  Then Mother laughed.

  And I laughed, too.

  Laugh out loud with Junie B. Jones!

  #1 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

  #2 Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business

  #3 Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth

  #4 Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying

  #5 Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake

  #6 Junie B. Jones and That Meanie Jim’s Birthday

  #7 Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren

  #8 Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed

  #9 Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook

  #10 Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal

  #11 Junie B. Jones Is a Beauty Shop Guy

  #12 Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy

  #13 Junie B. Jones Is (almost) a Flower Girl

  #14 Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime

  #15 Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket

  #16 Junie B. Jones Is Captain Field Day

  #17 Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl

  #18 Junie B., First Grader (at last!)

  #19 Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch

  #20 Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder

  #21 Junie B., First Grader: Cheater Pants

  #22 Junie B., First Grader: One-Man Band

  #23 Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked

  #24 Junie B., First Grader: BOO…and I MEAN It!

  #25 Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So Does May.)

  #26 Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha!

  #27 Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny

  Top-Secret Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (and me!)

  Junie B.’s Essential Survival Guide to School

  Barbara Park says:

  “When I was in elementary school, I used to dream about having a baby sister. In my dream, she would follow me around adoringly while I taught her everything I knew. Then—when she got big enough—we would join forces to overthrow my older brother, and the sisters would rule!

  Okay, fine. It was only a dream. But when I decided to add a new member to Junie B.’s family, I was surprised to learn that, unlike me, she wasn’t happy about having a new baby around at all.

  But what if it wasn’t an ordinary baby? What if it was—a baby monkey? Yes, of course! She’d love that.

  Come to think of it, I would have loved it, too. My brother wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

  Text copyright © 1993 by Barbara Park.

  Illustrations copyright © 1993 by Denise Brunkus.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American

  Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by

  Random House, Inc., and simultaneously in Canada by

  Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones and a little monkey business /

  Barbara Park; illustrated by Denise Brunkus. p. cm.

  “A first stepping stone book.” SUMMARY: Through a misunderstanding, Junie B. thinks that her new baby brother is really a baby monkey, and her report of this news creates excitement and trouble in her kindergarten class.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-75477-6

  [1. Babies—Fiction. 2. Brothers and sisters—Fiction.

  3. Kindergarten—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction.]

  I. Brunkus, Denise, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.P2197Jt 1993 [Fic]—dc20 92-56706

  v3.0