Juno and the Pencil Parade: story transcript
Page 1
Juno and the Pencil Parade
Page 2
Juno made a tiny parade with one curvy banner, three marchers, and two drummers. Tap-tap! Stomp-stomp! The banner wriggled like a happy worm. Mr. Line peered over his glasses. "That parade looks ready to wobble right off the page."
Page 3
The parade tiptoed to the edge. Then it skittered off the page and onto Juno’s desk with a squeaky, sideways march. One drummer bonked a pencil. Boing! Mr. Line blinked. "First rule: no marching on the ruler."
Page 4
Juno snorted. The parade was now marching in a zigzag under his notebook. Plip. Plop. Splat! Mr. Line pointed to the classroom calendar. "There is a line for everything. Even parade feet." The little drummers froze. One foot lifted. Then another. Then all three waited, very, very politely.
Page 5
Juno nudged his pencil. The parade took that as a sign to go, go, GO! They zipped past a comb, clink-clack, and bounced into a pile of hats and drumsticks. Bonk! Plop! One hat sat on a drummer’s nose. Mr. Line sighed. "Not that kind of line, little marchers."
Page 6
Juno pointed to the front of the room. "There! A proper parade spot!" He gave a grand sweep of his pencil. But the little marchers zigzagged right into the blinds. Zzzip! Whip! They tangled up like noodles. Mr. Line stared. "That is the least straight line I have ever seen."
Page 7
Mr. Line uncrossed the tangled marchers with two careful taps. Tap. Tap. "First we wait." He held up one finger. Juno held his breath. The parade held still. Then, one by one, the marchers stepped out in order. Tiny! Tidy! Terrifically slow!
Page 8
And oh! The parade behaved like it had swallowed a whole spoonful of patience. One marcher. Then the next. Then the next. They marched past the chalkboard in a neat little line, toes tapping, banner bobbing. Mr. Line nodded. "Excellent. Now it looks where it is going."
Page 9
Juno added a red flag. Then a red drum. The parade gasped. A flag! A drum! So important! They marched toward them all at once—WHUMP!—and bumped into their own toes. Mr. Line coughed. "One at a time." So they did.
Page 10
At last, the tiny parade reached the end of the desk. It paused. It wiggled. It bowed so low that the banner nearly kissed the floor. Juno grinned. Even Mr. Line smiled a small, tidy smile. "There," he said. "A parade that waits can shine."
