The Lunch BunchElectronic book published by ipicturebooks.com24 W. 25th St. New York, NY 10011 www.ipicturebooks.comAll rights reserved. Copyright 1998 by The Millbrook Press, Inc.Real Kids Readers and the Real Kids Readers logo are trademarks of The Millbrook Press, Inc.No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For my friend Marcia M. F.Special thanks to After the Stork, Albuquerque, NM; Hanna Andersson, Portland, OR; and Lands End, Dodgeville, WI, for supplying clothing.e-ISBN 1-58824-476-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataFinch, Margo.The lunch bunch / by Margo Finch ; photography by Dorothy Handelman.p. cm. (Real kids readers. Level 2)Summary: Three girls eat lunch together and become friends.ISBN 0-7613-2005-9 (lib. bdg.). ISBN 0-7613-2030-X (pbk.)1. Friendship Fiction. 2. Schools Fiction. I. Handelman, Dorothy, ill. II. Title. III. Series. PZ7.F49566Lu 1998 Edc21The Lunch Bunch Margo FinchPhotographs by Dorothy HandelmanIt is time for lunch. Meg knows what is in her brown bag. Mom packs the same thing each day. It is what Meg likes: A hard-bolied egg, a roll, fruit, and milk.4Meg is new at this school. Where should she sit? Ann sits with Lee. They trade parts of their lunch. It looks like fun.Meg asks Ann and Lee if she can sit with them. They say OK.Ann has ham. Lee has cheese with holes. Ann trades her ham for Lees cheese.Meg wishes she could trade too. But she feels shy. So she does not ask.That night Meg talks to Mom. She says she wants cheese for lunch cheese with holes. Then Ann might trade with her. Mom says OK. She is glad that Meg wants to try a new lunch. But Ann is not at school the next day. She has a bad cold.11At lunch Meg sits with Lee. They both have cheese with holes! It would be dumb to trade. So Meg eats cheese for lunch.12It tastes good. But you cant crack it on your head like an egg. Meg tells Lee, and they both laugh.13Ann is still home with her cold the next day. Meg has cheese for lunch again. And this time Lee has an egg!14She asked her mom for it so she and Meg could trade. Lee gets Megs cheese with holes. Meg gets Lees egg.Meg cracks the egg on her head. Lee says that looks like fun. Meg and Lee make a plan.16The next day, they wont trade. They will both bring eggs and crack them on their heads.The next day, Ann is back. At lunch she sits with Meg and Lee. Meg and Lee take out their eggs. They crack them on their heads.18Meg and Lee talk and laugh. Ann does not say much. And she does not laugh.19Lee has grapes to trade. Meg and Ann both want them. Lee says Meg can have them. Meg reaches for the grapes and hits Anns milk. Oh, no! What a mess! Anns jeans are all wet. Meg and Lee try to clean up the milk. But Ann is mad.20The next day, Ann does not sit with Lee and Meg. Lee is quiet. She keeps turning to look at Ann.22Meg feels bad for Lee. She wants to have Lee for her friend. But she knows Lee likes Ann too.Meg has an idea. That night she talks it over with Mom. Mom says she will help.24Meg gets out her art stuff. While she works, she plans what to say to Ann.The next day, Meg asks Ann to sit with her and Lee. At first Ann says no. Then she says yes.She sits down with them. She is not mad. Meg can tell that Lee is glad. Meg is glad too.Meg opens her brown bag and takes out three eggs. One has Anns name on it. One has Lees. And one has Megs.Meg and Lee show Ann how to crack her egg on her head. Then Meg takes out a bunch of grapes. They all have a great time at lunch.Now Meg has two lunches she likes: Hard-boiled egg and cheese with holes. And she has two friends. Meg eats lunch with Ann and Lee each day. Some days they trade. Some days they share.They have made up a name. They are The Lunch Bunch. But they are not just friends at lunch. They are friends all day long.Phonic Guidelines Use the following guidelines to help your child read the words in The Lunch Bunch.Short Vowels When two consonants surround a vowel, the sound of the vowel is usually short. This means you pronounce a as in apple, e as in egg, i as in igloo, o as in octopus, and u as in umbrella. Short-vowel words in this story include: bad, bag, but, can, fun, gets, ham, has, hits, mad, Meg, Mom, not, sit, wet.Consonant Blends When two or more different consonants are side by side, they usually blend to make a combined sound. In this story, words with consonant blends include: ask, bring, cold, crack, glad, help, milk, next, plan.Double Consonants When two identical consonants appear side by side, one of them is silent. Double- consonant words in this story include: egg, mess, roll, still, stuff, tell, will.R-Controlled Vowels When a vowel is followed by the letter r, its sound is changed by the r. In this story, words with r-controlled vowels include: