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]
| Author | Barbara Park |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Denise Brunkus |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Children's literature |
| Genre | Comic novel |
| Publisher | Random 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, Italian and French.
Characters
Juniper Beatrice "Junie B." Jones: The series' titular main protagonist; a young girl with a free spirited personality. Junie B. tends to be very spunky, sassy, friendly and wild. She is not mean, but she tends to be impulsive at times. In the kindergarten series, Junie B. tended to be more mischievous and used bad grammar but in the first grade series, she wasn’t as mischievous and she uses better grammar. However she is still free spirited kid, she is. She is not afraid to say what is on her mind and she is quite comedic. Junie B. lives with her parents, Robert and Susan, and her baby brother, Ollie. Her birthday is on June 1st, or "Junie the First" as she calls it. Junie B.'s favorite foods are spaghetti and meatballs, her favorite desserts are lemon pie and ice cream. In the kindergarten series, she dresses a bit more girly with her classic headband with a bow and her Mary Jane shoes named Pat and Leather (she sometimes wore sneakers). In the first grade series, she dresses a bit more masculine and wears glasses due when she becomes nearsighted in the beginning of first grade.
Family
Robert Jones: Junie B. and Ollie's dad, 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." He and Susan tend to be on the same page when it comes to raising the kids.
Susan Jones (née Miller): Junie B.'s and Ollie's mom, whom Junie B. calls "Mother." In Top Secret Personal Beeswax, Junie B. says, "Sometimes Daddy calls her Buttercup. That is ridiculous, I think." Susan is seen to be a no nonsense person and does not like it when Junie B. plays up.
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 because she feels he gets more attention than her 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 calmer. 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 as close, 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.
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. He tends to make up stories and sometimes join Jim on teasing Junie B.
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. José is Latino. He is bilingual as he speaks both English and Spanish. He plays soccer. According to “Boss of Lunch” he was in Room 8 when he was in Kindergarten.
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 class as Junie B. for both kindergarten (Room 9) and first grade (Room 1). 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 Room 9. His mother is the art teacher.
Charlotte: A girl in Room 9. She doesn't always get along with Junie B. She wears glasses and wore two braids.
Rivals
May Murkee (Tattletale May): The “perfect” student who sits next to Junie B. in the back of the class. May tends to call Junie B. “Junie Jones”. She can be extremely arrogant and competitive as she tends to brag how perfect she is, much to the entire class’ annoyance. She thinks that she can control the other students actions when she is not even the teacher. May has a tendency to tattle on the other kids especially Junie B. when they do something wrong even for the silliest of reasons. When May instigates in a situation with another kid, she would put the 100% blame on that student, and refuse to take ownership. As a result of May’s arrogance and tattling, she gets into several fights with the other kids, especially with Junie B. However May does show a softer side when she and Junie B. were playing with their stuffed elephants in “Turkeys we have loved and eaten (and other thankful stuff)” and when she and Junie gave each other gifts on “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, P.S so does May”.
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 teasing one another.
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. Bobbi seemed to be a bit rude, while Junie B. doesn’t like the fact that Grace decides to sit with someone else. As a result, Bobbi and Junie B. get into an brief argument.
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” and she became best friends with a set of twins, Camille and Chenille just because their names rhymed with hers and Junie B.’s doesn’t. She also becomes more spoiled, arrogant, and self centered.
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 to 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] She 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
- 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.
- "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009". American Library Association. 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
- Goodnow, Cecelia (2005). "Junie B. well-loved despite complaints". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
- Grossman, Anna Jane (July 26, 2007). "Is Junie B. Jones Talking Trash?". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
- Minzesheimer, Bob (November 17, 2013). "'Junie B. Jones' author Barbara Park dies at 66". USA Today. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
- Van Gelder, Lawrence (2005-11-12). Irrepressible, Bespectacled Girl Tackles First Grade. The New York Times.
- Welcome to TheatreworksUSA
- Official Junie B. Jones site.
- http://www.randomhouse.com/kids//junieb/author/author.html