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Junie B. Jones is a Friend of Ours

by Kerri Aldrich on July 9th, 2006

If there’s anything I love as much as reading, it’s reading with my kids. And it’s soooo fun now that my oldest can read, too.

One of our favorite characters to read about is Junie B. Jones. My daughter loves to read about all of Junie B.’s antics, her relationships with other kids, her new experiences, her disappointments, and her victories. I have a special “Junie B. Jones” voice I use when she’s speaking, but my daughter always wants to read everything WRITTEN IN CAPITALS (BECAUSE WHEN JUNIE B. IS VERY EXCITED, SHE OFTEN SPEAKS IN CAPITALS).

Author Barbara Park gets some criticism (scroll down to the customer reviews) for Junie B.’s choices of words (e.g. “I don’t think I’m going to like this dumb baby.”) and incorrect grammar (e.g. “So she just holded my hand.”), but I disagree with them being a definitive deterrent from reading these entertaining stories. Junie B. is a bit over the top, but she brings a ton of humor to our reading. She is honest (a quality we all say we admire), cheeky, curious, and fun. She asks all the questions we wish we could, and verbalizes many of the thoughts we keep captive in our minds.

And when she does say the things I don’t want my kids to repeat, it’s a good opportunity for me to sit and explain to my kids why and how we choose the words we use. And as far as Junie B.’s grammar being less than perfect? Well, I’d say that’s part of the reason she’s going to school. To learn how to speak good. :)

Quotes from Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business by Barbara Park, pgs. 10 & 11

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POSTED IN: Children's Books, General Play Library Goodies