Junie B. Jones is one of the most popular children’s book series of all time. I asked one fan, my daughter Caryn, what it is about Junie B. Jones that makes her so appealing to children. Caryn said: “She is funny and a lot of the time I can understand why she does things. Even though she’s a little misbehaved, she’s still very cute and very funny. She is always trying new things. You’ll have to read the book; it’s very fun!”
The premise behind Junie B. is simple: she’s an ordinary kid, in an ordinary school, facing ordinary problems. What makes this series shine is the fact that Junie B. has a very down-to-earth way of looking at things and doesn’t have a problem saying what she means. This gets her into trouble more often that not, but it’s refreshing to read about a child who’s not so bogged down by peer pressure as to be afraid to have her own opinions.
Another thing that sets Junie B. apart is her way of expressing herself. She’s just a young child and so her syntax isn’t fully developed yet, and the author uses that to her advantage. When a new girl named Thelma moves in, Junie B. refers to her as “that new Thelma.” The boy she has a crush on is “handsome Warren,” and she often uses phrases like “that guy.” While this unusual phraseology is sometimes a little overdone, it serves the purpose of giving Junie B. a distinctive voice not found in other children’s books.
Junie B.’s outlook on life is also immature, as is appropriate for a child her age. This serves as a tool to teach her readers how life really is and how we should handle our problems as opposed to how Junie does it. For instance, one day she caught her boyfriend Ricardo chasing that new Thelma, and she was very unhappy about that. She ran after him, tackled him, and demanded that he stop chasing Thelma and chase her instead. He didn’t much care for that and politely broke up with her, saying that it was fun to chase Thelma and he didn’t want to stop. Heartbroken, Junie B. sits on the playground long after the bell rings, and Mrs. (her teacher – she has another name but Junie B. just likes Mrs. and that’s all) has to come out and fetch her. Boy troubles already.
If you have a child between the ages of 7-10, particularly a girl, you will want to take a look into these funny and delightful books by Barbara Parks. Junie B. is definitely no princess, but she’s a real girl and I think she will appeal to any real girl you know.
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