Junie B Jones has hit our home with a vengeance and we are loving it. I have three children ages 7, 6 and 5. This series of books has become our favorite and we are reading them at least three nights a week. We take turn reading the books and then my oldest is using them for Accelerated Reader points. Our first book together was Junie B Jones is a Party Animal and we still laugh about some of the things in this book.
In Junie B Jones is a Party Animal Junie B decides she wants to go spend the night at Lucille’s ‘richie nanna’s’ house. After much scheming and begging she gets an invitation and permission from her parents to spend the night with Lucille, that Grace and Lucille’s ‘richie nanna’. The hi-jinx that occur during this sleep over are hilarious even to me as an adult. The phrases that Park gives Junie B are catchy and strike even the hardest people as funny. One of my favorite is "Yes, only here’s the problem…". Junie B seems to say that a lot and now I hear my kids say it too.
It isn’t all great though. I do find that Junie B as a character is mouthy, sassy and sneaky. I could see where some parents would think that perhaps she isn’t a good roll model for young girls. She disobeys her parents and other adults quite often and then she talks back in ways I would never allow my children to do. Rather than keep them from reading the stories I prefer to use them as teaching moments and we discuss at the end of each book what things Junie B did wrong and what better choices she could have made. We have even begun to come up with out own phrases that we could substitute for the times when she is being sassy to adults or impolite. My kids are learning that not everyone follows the rules, that not everyone is polite and what they can do in response to those kinds of people when they meet them in everyday life.
We have the whole set of Junie B books and have now started on Junie B is a Beauty Shop Guy. Equally funny. It has been fun to go back to my childhood if only in my mind. It has also been great to spend some time each night reading with the kids and talking about behaviors that are appropriate and inappropriate. If nothing else Junie B is bringing my children and I closer and gives us something new to discuss each week.
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Jillian loved these and read every one. Now Cassie is 6 and finally a chapter book reader and is devouring them! Definitely a good way to get kids to love reading themselves.