Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business

I loved this book when I was little and I still love it today. I love how the author uses child language in the book when Junie B. Jones talks. She makes Junie B have such a personality and attitude. She really makes the characters come alive and feel like you are feeling what they are feeling. When she gets upset about everybody obsessing over her brother I got upset with her because I felt her pain.

I used to have almost every book in this series as a kid. I was completely obsessed with this series. I read it over and over and over and over... Probably a bit too much? I ended up donating all of my books to a local charity almost a decade ago, but I still wanted to pick these books up and do some reviews for them. Why not? Jumping back into my youth and staring nostalgia in the face sounded like a fun idea!

As an adult, I can see why kids love this book. Also, as an adult, I can see why this series can be hated by adults.

Junie B. Jones is a troublesome kid who has a big mouth and says rude things. We all know those kids, and Junie B. is one of them. Some of the comedy in this book is amusing - little monkey taken as a real monkey. show more Picking this book up and being able to smile and roll my eyes at some of the goofy things I realize kids absolutely don't know is fun! I enjoyed jumping back into it.

This book is for kids though. As an adult, it's not my thing! I wouldn't pick this book up for fun. I pick this book up to look back at my youth and see where I'm at now. I can see why I liked it - it's funny, it's brash, we all feel like Junie B. sometimes when we get in trouble for just doing our honest best. We think we're saying the right things and don't realize that we weren't right the whole time as a kid. I can relate.

I do suggest not taking your time with this book. There are some good lessons to come out of them, but you don't want to leave off at a chapter where Junie B. Jones is telling everyone they are dumb bunnies or fat. Junie B. is very aggressive and rude to her friends in this book, so you also might want to give a lesson about bullying! If you can get past that... you're gold!

Overall, this is a great series for young readers. It's goofy, fun and silly!

Three out of five stars. show less

Grade Level: K–3

Summary: The second book of Junie B. Jones has Junie dealing with the big news that she’s going to be a big sister. When she hears her new baby brother is the “cutest little monkey,” she takes it literally and causes some hilarious chaos at school.

Classroom Use: As a future teacher, I could use this book to help early readers practice reading fluency and comprehension while enjoying a funny, relatable story. It’s also a great way to start conversations about family changes, friendship, and understanding others’ feelings.

I really I loved this Junie B Jones book, but there is one thing I am skeptical about. My favorite aspect of this book is the author’s use of language. The author makes Junie b out to be a blunt, high strung, and opinionated little girl. Junie B Jones always speaks what is on her mind, before she even processes her thoughts, and this makes her stores very entertaining. For example, Junie does not hesitate to tell us when she thinks something is disgusting, or not good enough for her. On the contrary, sometimes I wonder if Junie B Jones would influence children’s bad behavior. That is the one thing I didn’t like about this book. Junie does all these mischievous and troublesome things, but never really gets reprimanded for them. show more This might teach readers that they can do the same, which is not good. The main message of this story is things are not always what they seem, and you can’t believe something you hear, until you see it for yourself. show less

There are multiple reasons I enjoyed the Junie B. Jones chapter book. The first reason is that the story is believable and can relate to the real life experiences that a child may go through. A great example of this is when her parents sit down to tell her that she's going to have a baby brother or sister, "'Then Mother sat down next to me. "The surprise is that I'm going to have baby, Junie B.'" I like that this part of the book can relate to anyone who has a younger sibling. It does this by drawing the reader in and making them remember how they felt when something similar happened to them. Second, I liked that the book was written in first person. The way that the author made it feel like Junie B. was talking to you created a great show more sense of humor. "'After that, I opened up the 'frigerator. 'Cause I was hungry from playing, that's why. "HEY! GUESS WHAT? THERE'S A BIG FAT LEMON PIE IN HERE, FRANK!" I hollered.'" I found this quote hysterical because she was talking to her grandpa and all of a sudden when she found the pie, she called him Frank. If the text had not been written in first person, I as the reader would not have found it so amusing. Lastly, I found that the author made a good use of illustrations. I think that they were strategically and appropriately placed throughout the book to enhance the story. Due to the fact that this is a chapter book, the drawings were not on every page. However the placement of the illustrations was well thought out, giving me a visual during the most important parts of the story. In conclusion, I believe that 'big idea' or message from this story is this. Sometimes things in our lives don't go as we plan, and disappoint us. However, that thing can turn out to be one of the best things in our life. show less

This story was a joy to read for many reasons. First, I really enjoyed the overall plot of this chapter book because it was very amusing and comical. The big idea/message of this book is about having a new addition in the family. Junie B. Jones finds out she is having a baby brother and she's not very excited. Until, her grandmother tells her that "Your new brother is the cutest little monkey I've ever seen!" Junie B believes that her brother is an actual monkey and tells everyone at school. Secondly, the language style in this story is very true to the characters like Junie B. For example, "First, I told him about how I spended the night at grampa's house." Junie is in kindergarten so of course she doesn't use correct grammar all the show more time and it's evident throughout the whole book. This deals with the specific characters in the story which is my last reason for enjoying this book. The characters in this story are very well developed and relatable. "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." Junie B. Jones is a very outspoken, outgoing kindergartner. I believe we can all relate or know someone like the characters. show less

Junie B. Jones has always been one of my favorite book series. What she says is hilarious, and the grammatical errors that she makes when speaking just adds the the childish tone she has. The characterization in this book is spectacular--Junie B. is always narrating, but what each character says and the actions they do (according to Junie B.) says an excessive amount about them. Junie B. is a blunt, hyperactive five-year-old who complains a lot, Mrs. is a nice teacher who is worn down by her students' constant behavior problems, Lucille is a spoiled girl who likes to flaunt the expensive gifts she gets, etc. They, along with what they do in the situations they are put in, are what make the story so great.