Junie B. Jones

Junie B. Jones is a children's book series written by Barbara Park and illustrated by Denise Brunkus. Published by Random House from 1992 to 2013, the stories begin with Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, in which Junie B. is a fictional "almost six year old" starting her first day of kindergarten.[1] In the opening sentences of that book (hence, each book in the kindergarten series), she declares, "My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and that’s all."[1]

Junie B. Jones
AuthorBarbara Park
IllustratorDenise Brunkus
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectChildren's literature
GenreComic novel
PublisherRandom House

Books

Since the original book was published by Random House in 1992, 28 other Junie B. Jones books have been published. 27 belong to the Junie B. Jones series, and there is also a Junie B. Jones Journal. The series has been translated into Spanish and French.

New titles are no longer published, due to Barbara Park's death.

Characters

Juniper Beatrice "Junie B." Jones: The series' title character and main protagonist; a young girl with a friendly, bright, funny, and spirited personality. Junie B. lives with her parents, Robert and Susan, and her baby brother, Ollie. Her birthday is on June 1, or "Junie the First" as she calls it. Junie B.'s favorite foods are spaghetti and meatballs, lemon pie, and ice cream.

Family

Robert Jones: Junie B. and Ollie's loving father, whom Junie B. calls "Daddy." In Junie B. Jones is a Beauty Shop Guy, Junie B. says, "He has other names too. Some people call him Bob, and other people call him Bobby. Plus today Mother called him Ace."

Susan Jones (née Miller): Junie B.'s and Ollie's protective but caring mother, whom Junie B. calls "Mother." In Top Secret Personal Beeswax, Junie B. says, "Sometimes Daddy calls her Buttercup. That is ridiculous, I think."

Ollie Jones: Junie B.'s baby brother. He is born in the book Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business. Junie B. often dislikes her brother, and they have somewhat of a sibling rivalry. His first word is "Moo".

Frank Miller: Junie B.'s maternal grandfather. Grampa Miller, along with his wife, Helen Miller, babysits for her and her brother while their parents are at work.

Helen Miller: Junie B.'s maternal grandmother. Grandma Miller also babysits for Junie B. and her brother on occasion. Junie B. often calls her grandmother by her first name, Helen, which the latter dislikes. Grandma Miller has a pet canary bird named Twitter.

Philip Johnny Bob: Junie B.'s beloved stuffed elephant and imaginary friend. She brings him on trips with her.

Tickle: Junie B.'s dog of unknown breed. He has short yellowish fur. He has been around since before Junie B. was born.

Flo Miller: Junie B.'s aunt. She is only mentioned in "Junie B. Jones is (Almost) a Flower Girl", where she is marrying a man named Joe, who has a little sister named Bo.

Friends

Lucille: Junie B.'s rich, beautiful, but spoiled best friend in kindergarten. She has a grandmother who pampers her and always gives her what she wants, except dogs. She always wears nail polish. She likes to wear lacy socks with bows on them. She also has an older brother. In first grade, Junie B. and Lucille are not exactly friends any more, as Lucille becomes more snobbish. She is still mentioned in the 'First Grade' series of books, as she is in Junie B's class.

Grace: Junie B.'s athletic best friend in kindergarten. She has a baby brother and an older sister. Grace is a very fast runner and wears pink high-top sneakers. Unlike Junie B., Grace is well-behaved and she speaks with proper grammar. She sits with Junie B. every day on the school bus in kindergarten. Junie B. often refers to her as "that Grace." In first grade, Grace and Junie B. are not seen as friends any more, as they are in different classes and Grace finds a new best friend to sit on the bus with. Grace is not mentioned in the 'First Grade' series of books apart from the first book. Her phone number is 555-555-5555.

Ricardo: Junie B.'s "boyfriend" in kindergarten, until Junie B. Jones is (Almost) a Flower Girl, when she sees him chasing a different girl around the playground. He likes monkeys, has freckles, and wears cowboy boots.

Crybaby William: A very shy and soft-spoken boy who Junie B. says would be easy for her to beat up. She refers to him as "Crybaby William" because he can be upset very easily. He also has stage fright.

Paulie Allan Puffer: A boy from Junie B's class, who rekindles her fear of monsters after he claims that they live under everyone's beds. Junie B. calls him a "fountain of knowledge" cause he gives the class a lot of advice.

Herbert (Herb): Junie B.'s best friend in first grade. In Junie B.'s Top Secret Personal Beeswax, he and Junie B. seem to have a crush on each other. He was in a different school before first grade. In "Dumb Bunny" he mentions that he is Presbyterian.

José: Another one of Junie B.'s best friends in first grade. He is Hispanic and speaks both English and Spanish. He plays soccer. Sometimes, he greets Junie B. in Spanish.

Lennie: Another one of Junie B.'s best friends in first grade. He is quiet and almost always agrees with Junie B. Lennie has spiky hair. In Dumb Bunny, he and Shirley mention that they are Jewish.

Sheldon Potts: A good friend of Junie B. in first grade. He can be awfully shy in front of a crowd. He is shown to have blonde hair. Sheldon takes multi-vitamins, due to his many food allergies. His family is full of former criminals and otherwise strange people, such as his Uncle Vern, Aunt Bunny, and Grandpa Ned.

Shirley: Another good friend of Junie B. in first grade. She is shown to have short black hair. She has a dog named Stinky. In Dumb Bunny, she mentions that she and Lennie are Jewish.

Roger: A boy with freckles who is in the same classes as Junie B. for both kindergarten and first grade. He had his lunch money stolen by a boy named Jeff Hooks in kindergarten. He has an older brother named Rodney, who was previously in Mr. Scary's class.

Jamal Hall: A boy in the kindergarten class. His mother is the art teacher.

Charlotte: A girl in the kindergarten class. She doesn't always get along with Junie B. She wears glasses.

Rivals

May Murkee (Tattletale May): A girl who sits next to Junie B. in the first grade. Junie B. does not like her because she won't say the "B" in her name and just calls her Junie Jones. Junie B. calls her "Tattletale May. However, in "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (P.S. So Does May)", they put their rivalry aside for the Christmas season, as May acts more happy and friendly to Junie B. Junie B. is her secret Santa and gifts her the "Squeeze O' Burp", while it is hinted May was Junie B's secret Santa, gifting her new crayons.

Jim: Junie B. and Jim are said to hate each other until Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime when he gives a nice valentine to her. He admits that he has a crush on her but to keep it a secret because they have so much fun fighting.

Pink Fluffy Girl: A fellow student at Junie B.'s school who wears a pink jacket. She is known for stealing Junie B.'s mittens in Junie B. Jones is not a Crook.

Bobbi Jean Piper: Grace's new friend in first grade.

Lucille: She turns into Junie B's worst nightmare as the author describes in the chronicles of an interview with Barbara Park. In first grade, Junie B. tries to be friends with her as they were in Kindergarten, but Lucille refuses, preferring to act more 'mature'. She also becomes more spoiled and self-centered. Her best friends are a set of twins in the class.

Thelma: A new student who joins Room Eight in kindergarten. Junie B. refers to her as "New Thelma" and doesn't like her because Ricardo was chasing her.

Teachers and school staff

Mrs.: Junie B.'s kindergarten teacher and in charge of Room Nine. In all of the Kindergarten adventures, Junie B. says: "Her name is Mrs. She has another name too but I just like Mrs. and that's all." Her actual last name is never revealed.

Mr. Scary: Junie B.'s kind and warm first grade teacher. She believes that he made up his name because he is actually very nice and "doesn't even scare her, hardly."

Principal: The principal at Junie B.'s school. She refers to him only as "Principal." Junie B. believes he lives in his office and is "the king of the school, only he doesn't actually wear a crown."

Gus Vallony: The school janitor. He helps Junie B. out when she is accidentally locked in the school in Junie B. Jones and the Stupid, Smelly Bus, where he was originally known as the "man with the can". He was born in an unknown foreign country.

Mrs. Gladys Gutzman: The school cafeteria lady. She brings cookies to the kindergarten students.

Mrs. Weller: The school nurse.

Mr. Woo: The bus driver who drives Junie B. and the other kids to school. He may be grumpy but he still cares about the kids. He has already given Junie B. 2 pink bus slips: one for yelling for the bus to go faster and another for tickling another kid.

Grouchy Typing Lady: Principal's secretary who works at the front office.

Mr. Toot: The music teacher, who is also in charge of the annual Holiday Sing-Along.

Mrs. Hall: The art teacher. She has a son named Jamal.

Reception

The Junie B. Jones series came in at #71 on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000–2009.[2] Reasons cited are poor social values taught by the books and Junie B. Jones not being considered a good role model due to her mouthiness, bad spelling, and grammar.[3]

While Barbara Park appreciated being on banned lists with writers she respected (like Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison), she stopped reading information about her books because the comments were "too hurtful".[4] Park once wrote that some people "believe that the value of a children's book can be measured only in terms of the moral lessons it tries to impose or the perfect role models it offers. Personally, I happen to think that a book is of extraordinary value if it gives the reader nothing more than a smile or two. In fact, I happen to think that's huge."[5]

Adaptations

Plays

  • Junie B. Jones, theatrical adaptation by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich, Theatreworks USA[6][7]
  • Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business, theatrical adaptation by Joan Cushing
  • Junie B. Jones The Stupid Smelly Bus Tour, Random House,[8] tour by Momentum Worldwide
  • 2008 Tour - Caitlin Thurnauer as Junie B. Jones, Jay Paranada as Mr. Woo; tour managed by Michael Barth
  • Junie B. Jones Top-Secret Personal Beeswax educational video game for the LeapFrog Leapster Learning System
  • Junie B. Jones: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, theatrical adaptation by Allison Gregory; Childsplay. Music composed by Rob Witmer
  • Junie B. Jones: First Grader: Shipwrecked, theatrical adaptation by Allison Gregory; Childsplay
  • Junie B Jones and a Little Monkey Business, theatrical adaptation performed at B Street Theatre
  • Junie B Jones: The Musical

Film

The only mentioning of a theatrical feature film based on the books comes from a Q&A thread from Barbara Park where she stated that "Junie B has been pretty successful already living in the readers' imaginations, so I am happy with that."[9]

References

  1. Fox, Margalit (2013-11-18). "Barbara Park, Author of Junie B. Jones Series, Dies at 66". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  2. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009". American Library Association. 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  3. Goodnow, Cecelia (2005). "Junie B. well-loved despite complaints". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  4. Grossman, Anna Jane (July 26, 2007). "Is Junie B. Jones Talking Trash?". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  5. Minzesheimer, Bob (November 17, 2013). "'Junie B. Jones' author Barbara Park dies at 66". USA Today. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  6. Van Gelder, Lawrence (2005-11-12). Irrepressible, Bespectacled Girl Tackles First Grade. The New York Times.
  7. Welcome to TheatreworksUSA
  8. Official Junie B. Jones site.
  9. http://www.randomhouse.com/kids//junieb/author/author.html
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