Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

Barbara Park’s Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus may seem on the outside a light, humorous early chapter book, but it has meaningful themes about childhood anxiety, independence, and honesty. At its heart, the story explores a child’s fear of the unknown, specifically Junie B.’s worry about riding the school bus home. Her dramatic reactions reflect very real feelings many young children experience when facing new routines or losing a sense of control. The book also highlights natural consequences, Junie B.’s decision to hide at school creates an even bigger problem, gently reinforcing the importance of listening to trusted adults. Another layer is voice and authenticity. Junie B.’s imperfect grammar and strong show more personality mirror how many children actually think and speak. This validates early readers and helps them see themselves in books, even while adults sometimes debate the language choices. This book is funny, fast-paced, and super relatable for early readers. Junie B.’s dramatic personality can keep kids engaged, and the story shows kindergarten emotions in an honest way. If I remember correctly this was my very first chapter book I ever read when I was younger. I appreciated it in a whole new light reading it at my age now and was so excited to see such important themes explored throughout it. show less

I had heard of Junie B. Jones, and the books sounded pretty silly, so I had never read any. But then I sat in on story time in Jordan Bors’ first-grade class. I couldn’t stop laughing! Mrs. Bors was reading the first book in the series, and I had missed the beginning of Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, and the kids were laughing as much as I was! And they were begging for “just one more chapter” over and over! What a testament to a book! So I had to get the book from the library right away.

Want to know what Junie B. Jones is like? Here she is meeting her kindergarten teacher:

Her name was Mrs. — I can’t remember the rest of it. Mrs. said I looked cute.

“I know it,” I said. “That’s because I have on my new

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shoes.”

I held my foot way high up in the air.

“See how shiny they are? Before I put them on, I licked them.”

...“Watch yourself, missy,” said Mother.

Missy’s my name when I’m in trouble.

Yeah, so it’s like that. I’m sure Mrs. Jones has a lot of practice calling Junie B. “missy” — and being mortified.

As a teacher, I would be horrified if I had a student like Junie B. Jones in my own class. As a mom, I had a modified Junie B. of my own, so I completely sympathize with her mother. But as a reader, I can’t get enough of her. The best children’s books are totally wasted on children, and this one fits that category. Highly recommended, even more for parents than children.

I almost forgot! Illustrator Denise Brunkus deserves kudos, as well. I adore the drawings of this hyperactive 5-year-old with flyaway hair — just how you’d imagine her.

And special thanks to Jordan for this great discovery. show less

Years ago, on a rainy night with no cable, I suggested reading a book to my daughter. The first book was Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. We had picked up several of the Junie B books from our library to help our girl prepare for kindergarten. Halfway through the book, both she and I were laughing, had tears rolling down our faces, and were die hard fans.

The books focus on the viewpoint of Junie B, a precarious kindergartner who is learning of the world around her, developing relationships and dealing with life in general. She has friends and quasi enemies to come down the road.

In this book, it is Junie B's first day of school and she is a little nervous. She gets on the bus with no small amount of trepedation. What will show more happen to her at school? Will she like it? Will she hate it? (All questions my child was able to readily relate to.)

Junie B has an interesting day of highs and lows. The best part about this book is that even though things don't all go her way, Junie B tells about her first day in a way that not only let you know she got through it, but also shows she has developed a sense of humor about the lows as well as the highs.

As a mom, I frequently turn to books to help prepare my children for life. This book was a great help with my little one to get her excited to leave the nest and go explore this new world that was opening up to her. To this day, a Junie B. Jones book sighting can cause her to squeal like a 5 year old girl. She will sit on the floor of Target or Walmart and read one of these books while I am shopping. I think we can all agree that's not normal 14 year old girl behavior. She loves these books.

When she found out Barbara Park died, the girl cried. And asked to buy all the books so she can share them with her children in the future (she was concerned they would go out of print). I can't think of a better recommendation of any book series than that. show less

I just had to include a Junie B. Jones book in here. I LOVED these as a child. I'm pretty sure I have read every single one. This book is all about Junie's adventures during her first time riding the bus for school. I love Junie B. Jones books because Junie is so spunky! She has such a unique personality and wild character that is so fun and engaging to read. Another thing about these books that is fun is the spelling and the language. It is written as a journal for some parts and it's so fun to see the character come to life through her own writing. I also just love the way that the author uses description through a silly, naive point of view. Her use of language in the text just fits a 1st grader so well. I am so excited to share show more these books with my own kids, as well as my classroom in the future! show less

I honestly loved this book! I love Junie's unique qualities and the fact that she does whatever she wants. Plus she doesn't seem to have a filter at all. It's like she's the center of the universe. She gives the world around her a silly and spunky vibe when she comes around. And the fact that she didn't want to ride the bus so she intentionally hid from everyone is hysterical. So many children and adults can relate to Junie but the rest of us aren't as brave as her to not ride the school bus home. I would have cried.

I have mixed feeling about this book. The book, in my opinion, is hilarious and portrays a typical child. Most books create characters that are “perfect” or someone to look up to. This book, however, describes a little girl who is a big troublemaker. Although children should not strive to be like Junie B. Jones, it is a much more accurate description of how children think. A cute, funny quote from the book that describes the way Junie thinks is, “Guess where I ran to? Straight to the nurse’s office, of course! Cause there’s those little plaid blankets to hide under!” On the other hand, I am not sure that I would read this book aloud. This book uses the word “stupid” and I am not a fan of young children using this word or show more thinking that it is okay to call someone by this name. The word is right on the cover in the title, so it is almost impossible to avoid the term. The main message of this book is understanding right vs. wrong. show less

I really liked this book about a girl named Junie B Jones, who was nervous about her first school bus ride experience, for a few reasons. Junie B. Jones is only beginning kindergarten, yet she has this bold personality that is unleashed in this first-person narrative, which engages readers like myself. For instance, chapter 1 begins with, “My name is Junie B Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and that is all,” which immediately gives the reader a taste for Junie B Jones’s sassy personality and what is to come later in the story. Another reason why I liked this book is because the story is written in first person, which is very humorous being told through a kindergartner's mind. For show more example, Junie B Jones says, “That made me feel scary inside. Cause I never rided on a bus before.” This shows the language of a kindergartner, which makes it very believable and entertaining to read. Overall, I really liked this story and the big idea- that even kindergartners can conquer their fears, big or small. show less