by Joe McGee
“Every bolt, beaker, and bucket of parts,” said Doctor Frankenstein.
“And you, Igor Junior,” said Igor Senior. “Because you pulled the lever the first time, when you were specifically told not to, you are grounded . . .”
Igor Junior’s lip trembled. He just nodded and stared at the floor.
“After you enjoy the village birthday celebration and a bucket of cheesy popcorn,” finished Igor Senior.
Igor Junior looked up with a surprised smile on his face. “Really?” he said.
“A big birthday bash like this does not happen every day, and you did help make it possible,” said Igor Senior. “But starting tomorrow, you’ll be doing double chores for a week!”
Igor Junior’s lip was no longer trembling. “Thanks, Pop. And I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to listen from now on.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” said Wolf Man. “The quicker you clean, the quicker you get to that party.”
“And the cheesy popcorn,” said Boris.
Franky, Wolfy, Vampyra, and Igor Junior all put their hands together.
“ ‘Teamwork’ on three,” Franky said.
“One . . . two . . . three . . . TEAMWORK!” they all shouted.
Igor Junior and the Junior Monster Scouts sprang into action to clean up Doctor Frankenstein’s laboratory. Even Boris and the rats helped.
CHAPTER
13
IT DID NOT TAKE LONG for Igor Junior and the Junior Monster Scouts to clean up the laboratory. Things go much quicker when everyone lends a hand. Soon the laboratory was just as Doctor Frankenstein and Igor Senior had left it.
“Okay,” said Wolf Man, “it looks like you monsters earned your trip to the birthday celebration.”
“And the first ever Monster Mash competition,” said Frankenstein. He winked at Franky.
“And that cheesy popcorn,” said Igor Senior.
Boris and the rats cheered.
“But be back before sunrise!” said Dracula. He looked at Vampyra. “You know what the sun does to your complexion.”
The Junior Monster Scouts, Igor Junior, and the swarm of rats did not waste any time leaving the castle and heading straight for the village.
Peter the piper, their friend from the village, was the first to see them.
“Hello, Junior Monster Scouts!” he said. “I was hoping you would come to the party. I made a very cool monster for the competition!”
“Hi, Peter!” said Vampyra. “This is our friend Igor Junior. And you know the rats. . . .”
Peter did indeed know the rats. He had helped the Junior Monster Scouts lead them out of the village during their last adventure.
“We’re only here for some popcorn,” said Boris. “Then it’s back to the castle for us.”
“Come on,” said Peter to the rats. “A big bucket of cheesy popcorn, coming right up. Nice to meet you, Igor Junior. You should check out the merry-go-round. It is a lot of fun!”
• • •
Igor Junior and the Junior Monster Scouts took his advice. They went round and round and round and up and down and up and down.
“I think I’m getting dizzy,” said Wolfy.
“Welcome to the party, Junior Monster Scouts!” said the mayor. “Do we have you to thank for turning on the lights? We almost had to cancel our party . . . and the very special, first ever Monster Mash competition!”
“You are very welcome,” Vampyra said. “It was Franky’s idea.”
“Only because Igor Junior pulled the lever and created all that electricity,” said Franky.
“Out-of-control electricity,” muttered Igor Junior.
“Is that what that was?” asked the mayor. “We thought it was fireworks.”
The mayor and the Junior Monster Scouts laughed.
“Let’s not forget the rats,” Wolfy said. “They helped too!”
“Of course!” said the mayor. “How about joining us in one big round of ‘Happy Birthday’?”
The villagers gathered around. The band marched in with their drums and horns and clanging cymbals. The mayor raised his bullhorn to his lips, and everyone—including the Junior Monster Scouts, Igor Junior, and Boris and the rats—sang.
“Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday to our village . . . Happy birthday to us!”
It was a wonderful, loud, cheer-filled song. It made everyone happy. Well, almost everyone. There was one person who was not happy. You know who he is, and we’ll come back to him in a moment. But for now, let’s sit back and enjoy the big smiles and good cheer of the villagers, the Junior Monster Scouts, and the cheesy popcorn–stuffed rats.
I’ll bet you want some cheesy popcorn now, don’t you?
Me too. All this talk of cheese and popcorn has me hungry.
Where was I? Oh, yes . . . the birthday celebration. Igor Junior and the Junior Monster Scouts played games, sang songs, and rode the merry-go-round at least a dozen times. At the end of the party, everyone gathered for the big Monster Mash competition. There were many cool, crazy, wonderful windup monsters. The mayor had a very difficult time choosing. But in the end, the coolest, craziest, most wonderful windup monster belonged to . . . Franky Stein! The mayor hung the first place ribbon around his neck and awarded him his very own, hand-carved cuckoo clock. Peter the piper came in second.
The Junior Monster Scouts had a grand time, and before long it was time to go home. After all, they had promised to be home before sunrise, and a Junior Monster Scout always keeps a promise.
They shook hands, waved good-bye, and promised to visit again soon. They even got balloons before they left. Balloons make everything better, don’t you think? And when they got back to the castle, the Junior Monster Scouts promised to visit Igor Junior after he was done being grounded.
“Thanks for saving the day, Junior Monster Scouts,” said Igor Junior.
“Sure thing. But remember . . . ,” said Vampyra.
“What’s that?” Igor Junior said.
“Don’t pull that lever!” said Vampyra, Franky, and Wolfy at the same time.
Igor Junior and the Junior Monster Scouts all laughed.
CHAPTER
14
“OKAY, JUNIOR MONSTER SCOUTS,” SAID Frankenstein. “Time for tonight’s scout meeting. We have a little time before the sun is up.”
Franky, Wolfy, and Vampyra gathered around the table in the castle dungeon. It was a big table in the middle of a very big dungeon. Dracula and the Wolf Man sat down too.
“I know you were only helping,” said Frankenstein, “but that was a very dangerous laboratory. You could have been hurt!”
“We were very careful,” said Vampyra.
“Yeah, we used a broom to touch the lever instead of our hands,” said Wolfy.
“That was good thinking,” said Wolf Man. “Which is why we think you three earned your Safety Merit Badges.”
“For being smart in how you handled a dangerous situation,” said Dracula.
Franky, Wolfy, and Vampyra smiled.
“You also earned your Loyalty Merit Badge,” said Dracula.
“For sticking by Igor Junior and not letting him take all the blame,” Frankenstein said.
“And helping him clean up his mess,” said Wolf Man.
Franky, Vampyra, and Wolfy all high-fived.
“Okay, scouts,” said Wolf Man. “Line up.”
Franky, Vampyra, and Wolfy lined up, proudly wearing their Junior Monster Scout sashes. Wolf Man stopped before each of them and pinned on their Safety Merit Badges. Dracula stopped before each of them and pinned on their Loyalty Merit Badges.
Then Frankenstein cleared his throat. “Ahem,” he said. “We have one more badge to present.”
“You do?” said Franky.
“I heard that the mayor gave you a first-place ribbon,” said Frankenstein.
“And a very fine, hand-carved cuckoo clock,” said Dracula.
“Franky won those in the first ever Monster Mash competition!” said
Wolfy.
“He made the coolest, craziest, most wonderful windup monster!” Vampyra said.
Frankenstein arched one eyebrow and winked at Franky. “Why don’t we wind it up and see how it does?”
Franky gave the winding key one, two, three, four, five big turns and let go. His mechanical monster hopped up and down and back and forth, clapping its claws and waving its tentacles while the music box inside played a haunted tune.
Franky, Wolfy, and Vampyra danced along with it.
“Great job, Franky,” said Dracula. “You earned your Gadget Merit Badge for your creation.”
Frankenstein pinned the badge on Franky’s sash and patted his shoulder. “Good job, Franky. Good job, all three of you!”
“You know what time it is!” said Wolf Man. He leaped up on the table and howled.
“Time to say the Scout oath!” said Dracula. “And get to bed before the sun rises.”
Franky, Vampyra, and Wolfy all held hands and said, “I promise to be nice, not scary. To help, not harm. To always try to do my best. I am a monster, but I am not mean. I am a Junior Monster Scout!”
And so this particular tale comes to an end.
Almost . . .
CHAPTER
15
BARON VON GRUMP TRUDGED BACK to the small shack at the edge of the village, the one with the sign on the door that read:
VILLAGE POWER
DO NOT ENTER
THIS MEANS YOU!
“Bah,” he said. “I’ll bet it was those meddling monsters and their junior scout goodness that ruined my plan.”
He opened the door and went in, even though the sign said NOT to enter . . . again.
“Caw, caw!” Edgar said.
“I know what it says!” growled Baron Von Grump. He marched over to the big tall machine with dials and buttons and one big lever.
“Everyone has electricity now but me!” he said. “Me! Baron Von Grump! If those annoying villagers have electricity, then I want electricity.”
He traced his crooked finger along the row of buttons until he found the one labeled:
WINDMILL
He pushed the button. “One last step,” he said, grasping the lever.
There was a sign hanging on the lever. The sign read: DO NOT PULL THIS LEVER!
“Caw, caw!” said Edgar. He flew in circles around Baron Von Grump.
“I am aware of what it says,” sneered Baron Von Grump. “Nobody tells Baron Von Grump what to do!”
“Caw!” Edgar said. He flew in circles around the little shack.
“Coward!” yelled Baron Von Grump.
He wrapped his other hand around the lever and—
You know . . . this sounds oddly familiar, doesn’t it? What was Igor Junior told? Do you remember? Perhaps we should give Baron Von Grump one final warning. Ready? Okay, one . . . two . . . three:
Baron Von Grump, do NOT pull that lever!
Of course, he did not listen.
“Edgar?” he groaned. “Could you, perhaps . . . spring me free?”
JUNIOR MONSTER SCOUT • HANDBOOK •
The Junior Monster Scout oath:
I promise to be nice, not scary. To help, not harm.
To always try to do my best. I am a monster, but
I am not mean. I am a Junior Monster Scout!
Junior Monster Scout mottos:
By paw or claw, by tooth or wing, Junior Monster Scouts can do anything!
Never say “never” when friends work together!
By tooth or wing, by paw or claw, a Junior Monster Scout does it all!
Junior Monster Scout laws:
Be Kind—A scout treats others the way they want to be treated.
Be Friendly—A scout is open to everyone, no matter how different they are.
Be Helpful—A scout goes out of their way to do good deeds for others . . . without expecting a reward.
Be Careful—A scout thinks about what they say or do before they do it.
Be a Good Listener—A scout listens to what others have to say.
Be Brave—A scout does what is right, even if they are afraid, and a scout makes the right decisions . . . even if no one else does.
Be Trustworthy—A scout does what they say they will do, even if it is difficult.
Be Loyal—A scout is a good friend and will always be there for you when you need them.
Junior Monster Scout badges in this book:
Gadget Merit Badge
Loyalty Merit Badge
Safety Merit Badge
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS •
Having rambled through pages of acknowledgments in book 1, The Monster Squad, I am going to keep this much shorter.
As always, I am so grateful for the love, support, and encouragement from my wife, best friend, and adventuring partner, Jessica. She not only champions me and my work, but also challenges me and inspires me. Thank you, love! I’m so happy to be on this writing journey together.
Mad respect and admiration for my superstar editor, Karen Nagel, and the entire Aladdin team. I know you love these books as much as I do, and you’ve really made my vision become something even greater than I anticipated. Thank you!
Thank you, Linda Epstein, for your hard work and dedication to the project. You saw it was more than my initial idea and encouraged me to make something more of it. I really appreciate that.
Many thanks to the amazingly talented Ethan Long for his fun, zany, adorable illustrations. Wow! I just want to hug those Junior Monsters!
I want to thank our children, Zachary, Ainsley, Shane, Logan, Braeden, and Sawyer not only for their excitement and pride in our books, but for all of the sacrifices they’ve had to make and adjustments they’ve been through. Thank you.
Thank YOU, the readers . . . because without you, there’d be no book. Or maybe there’d be a book, but no reader. And what good is a good story without a reader? If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around to hear it, does it still make a noise? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Anyway, thanks for reading my book!
Finally, a great big thank you to all of the librarians (media specialists), teachers, and parents who battle digital distractions every day and fight to put books in the hands of young readers. Your commitment to reading, imagination, and creativity is SO important. Thank you!
Oh, and thank you, coffee.
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR •
JOE McGEE is the author of the picture books Peanut Butter & Brains, Peanut Butter & Aliens, and Peanut Butter & Santa Claus. Joe is on the faculty of Sierra Nevada College’s Writing for Children and Young Adults lowresidency MFA program and teaches writing at Rowan University in New Jersey. He is a graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults as well as the Rowan University Master of Arts in Writing program. He lives in a beautiful little river town with his wife (also a children’s author) and their puppy, Pepper. You can find him online at joemcgeeauthor.com and on Twitter @mcgeejp.
ALADDIN
SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK
Visit us at
simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Joe-McGee
ALSO IN THE JUNIOR MONSTER SCOUTS SERIES
Book 1:
The Monster Squad
Book 3:
It’s Raining Bats and Frogs!
WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT JUNIOR MONSTER SCOUTS ADVENTURE!
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin hardcover edition September 2019
Text copyright ©
2019 by Joseph McGee
Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Ethan Long
Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.
Library of Congress Control Number 2019931558
ISBN 978-1-5344-3680-0 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-5344-3679-4 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-5344-3681-7 (eBook)
