Books in The Kids from Monkey Mountain series

Janice (who really wants to be known as "Greer") is a little overweight and more than a little bossy when it comes to struggling to be heard at O.P. Doberman School in Hope Springs. Her self-confidence isn't helped by the fact that her parents are separated. She spends half her life living with her dad in a trailer at the edge of town, where she occasionally spots a skunk that doesn't hesitate to spray if there's any sudden noise in the trailer. Janice would love her parents to get back together and thinks she can engineer it just in time for her birthday. But, of course, that proves harder than she realizes.

In Two False Moves Nick can't shake off classroom competition from Lindsey, who soon becomes his arch enemy. For one thing, she hogs all the show-and-tell time. Not only that but she gets to be message monitor and she's chosen to sit with Ralph the bear for silent reading time. Far worse, however, is the fact that Lindsey's family might just buy the house Nick's family is renting. The final stroke comes when their teacher decides on partners for science projects and pairs him off with you guessed it Lindsey. It takes a series of hilarious misunderstandings to shake Nick's preconceptions about Lindsey. By the time it's all over, Nick realizes that, despite Lindsey's planned family holiday in Florida and all the advantages she seems to have, he may have a few blessings of his own."A cast of dynamic, memorable characters, plenty of humor (a Staunton trademark) and well-paced plots with believable school-age conflicts and satisfying endings. . . . Highly recommended."-Canadian Materials"Staunton's strength is that he uses humor to engage the reader while exploring problems that loom large on the pre-teen radar."-City Parent

Jeff quietly does his school work, dresses quietly, has a few strong friendships, and is mostly unobtrusive. So when the Evil Girl Group - or the rotten EGGs - decide to make Jeff a target for their teasing, life takes a decidedly bad turn. Also, though he always gets excellent marks, there's a constant concern that he won't be able to keep up at school. One of the few outlets he uses to overcome all his worries is the cartoon strip he and his friend Nick produce, Cowboy Bob. But Nick doesn't seem to be available these days. Perhaps Jeff can find a new friend in Janice, who has her own worries about fitting in, and just maybe Cowboy Bob can corral the EGGs and teach them a lesson.

The Monkey Mountain Monster finds Lindsey a reluctant day-camper, partly because most of the kids come from another school in her town of Hope Springs, but mostly because of mouthy Mona, who's a put-down artist extraordinaire and who's never without her gaggle of admiring girlfriends. Lindsey wants no part of it, but Mona has lured Lindsey's best friend, Caitlin, into her crowd of disciples, which leaves Lindsey out in the cold. To complicate matters, there's a mysterious monster, known as the Ooly Gooly, roaming through Hope Springs. On a dare Lindsey agrees that she will sleep out in her backyard one night, but when she finds out that Caitlin won't join her, she realizes she really is all on her own. An unexpected volunteer agrees to join Lindsey, and when the monster shows up the kids can't contain themselves. Chaos and panic set in with lively results.

Travis Bee is the youngest of three sons of Reverend Bee, one of the town's most respected citizens. There are no lengths to which Travis won't go to attract attention to himself whether it's spraying the Sunday morning congregation with his water bottle, playing up his notorious hyena laugh in the classroom, stealing other kids' pencils, clowning around during church choir practice - or, most of all, teasing Mary Beth Harvey. Of course, Travis gets his comeuppance before long: he's chosen to sing the solo during the dedication service for the renovated church building, a prospect that both terrifies and pleases him. This time, however, he'll have to be on his best behavior, which means he's the perfect target for Mary Beth's revenge. It all makes for an uproarious finale to this rollicking good story about Monkey Mountain mischief.