• Ask students if they have ever had a lemonade stand or any other sort of sidewalk sale. What did they sell? Did anyone come to buy it? How much money did they make?
• Ask students if they have ever been to the circus. What did they see there? What did they do?
• If students have read other Monsters books, ask students to recall what they know about the characters. Recall experiences that the Monsters have had in previous books. 

Preview the Book

• Show students the cover and read the title to them.
• Ask students what they think this book might be about based on the title and the illustration
• Open the book to the title page. Discuss what students see in the picture. Point out the author biography on the copyright page. Tell them that if they like the Monsters books, they might be able to find other books by the same writer in the library or bookstore.
• Show students the illustrations through page 7 and have students make predictions about what might be happening. Reinforce any language you think might present difficulty. "What do the monsters need to make lemonade?" "Do you think people will be thirsty?"
• After previewing up to page 7, ask students how they think Bonk and his friends will get to the circus. 

Set the Purpose
Tell students that in stories, most events have a cause that came before them. As they read through the book, they should think about why an event happened.