Grumpy Monkey the Egg-Sitter

Jim Panzee, the grumpy monkey at the center of the Grumpy Monkey series, starts his day expecting fun, but his plans fall apart quickly. Oxpecker talks him into watching her egg for just a moment, then vanishes, leaving Jim stuck with the job.

Norman suggests the animals share the duty in turns so everyone gets some playtime. That arrangement goes wrong at lunch, when Jim, Norman, and Leslie step away and the egg tumbles off. Jim chases it, but the egg slips past him and ends up in Snake's nest with the snake eggs. When those hatch, the baby snakes look straight at Jim and cry out "Mama!" Jim decides he is done sitting on eggs for good.

Written at the Step 2 level, this early reader tells its simple story with basic vocabulary and short sentences. The easy words and colorful pictures suit children who already recognize common words and can sound out new ones with some help.