Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business (Junie B. Jones, No. 2)

Summary: Junie B. Jones is a kindergarten girl who discovers that her mother is pregnant, and is not very excited to have a new baby in the house. Once the baby is born, Junie B.'s grandmother tells her that the baby is the "cutest little monkey", which Junie B. takes literally. At school, Junie B. tells her classmates that her new brother is a monkey, and her friends even bribe her with presents to be the first one to see her monkey brother. This leads to Junie B. ending up in the principals office, where her grandmother was called to clarify that her brother was a human baby boy. The story ends with Junie B. getting to meet her baby brother as her parents pick her up from school.

Genre Critique: This book is a good example of realistic fiction, because the setting, characters, and events are all believable. The story is told from the perspective of Junie B. Jones, giving the reader insight into the thoughts and feelings of a kindergarten girl. The story is believable, because it would be easy for a child her age to take an expression literally and misunderstand what an adult says and means. Students will be able to relate to the feelings of uncertainty, jealously, and excitement with the coming of a new baby, and the book can help them understand what to expect and how to adjust to the change.

Point of View Critique: This is a good example of a story told from first person point of view. As the story is told from this angle, the reader is allowed direct insight into Junie B.'s thoughts and feelings. This lets the reader form connections with Junie B. and relate to what she is going through. The words that Junie B. chooses to speak with add humor to the story and allows the reader to imagine a real kindergarten student saying and doing the things she does. This point of view helps the story read smoothly and makes it easy to understand, since Junie B. is telling a simple story about her day, and it is only told from one perspective.

Junie B Jones uses her baby brother to get cool stuff from her friends and she wants to bring him to school for pet day. ( )

Cute book about a charming kindergartener that discovers her mother is pregnant. She is not happy about the situation at first. Once the baby is born, the grandmother makes a mistake of the Junie that her baby brother is the cutest little monkey which she is now convinced her brother is literally a monkey. This seems like the typical behavior of a child of Junie’s age. The story is hilarious and cute which would engage young readers. It is appropriate for young children who have to deal with have a new sibling.

Junie B. Jones is just a little kindergartener and she has gotten used to being an only child. But some news got to her that her being and only child will cease to exist. As predicted she is not too happy about it. Throughout the book she acts out on various occasions because she just cannot come to terms with her new baby brother. She even gets into trouble at school, but when her mother actually has her baby brother, she realized that it’s actually really and all of a sudden becomes proud of her baby brother. This book was excellent; it was a balance of comedy and life lessons.

Extension:

Students would benefit from a lesson on expectations especially when it comes to new arrivals whether it is at home or a new student.

When a child is going to get a new brother or sister the class can make a welcome sign.

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