Junie B. Jones is back on audio with a collection of books that began the well-loved series.
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus Remember when it was scary to go to school? 'Cause it was your first day and you didn't know anything. Meet Junie B. Jones, kindergartner. She's so scared of the school bus and the meanies on it that when it's time to go home, she doesn't.
Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business It's pooey on B-A-B-I-E-S until Junie B. finds out that her new dumb old baby brother is a big fat deal. Her two bestest friends are giving her everything they own just to see him. And guess what else? Maybe she can bring him to school on Pet Day.
Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth Junie B.'s having a rough week. First she got punishment for shooting off her mouth in kindergarten. And now she's in big trouble again! 'Cause Monday is Job Day, and Junie B. told her class that she's got the bestest job of all. Only, what the heck is it?
Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying Junie B. is the bestest spier in the whole world. That's 'cause she has sneaky feet. And her nose doesn't whistle when she breathes. But guess what? Junie B. might be real sneaky. And real peeky. But when she spies on Mrs., she could get into real trouble!
Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake In this audio, Junie B. wins the Carnival Night Cake Walk and chooses the bestest cake of all. How was she to know it was lethal weapon?
Junie B. Jones and that Meanie Jim's Birthday Junie B. is NOT invited to Jim's birthday party in this great story.
Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren Junie B. has to figure out how she can get the handomest guy she's ever seen to love her.
Juine B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed Junie B. worries that Paulie Allen Puffer is right and she really does have monster under her bed.
Barbara Park is one of today's funniest, most popular writers for middle grade readers. Her novels, which include Skinnybones, Mick Harte was Here, Maxie, Rosie, and Earl-Partners in Grime, Rosie Swanson: Fourth-Grade Geek for President, and The Graduation of Jake Moon have won just about every award given by children. She is also the author of the hilarious and bestselling Junie B. Jones chapter books. Recent books about Junie include Junie B., First Grader (at last!) and Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch.
Ms. Park earned a B.S. degree in education at the University of Alabama. She lives in Arizona with her husband and has two grown sons.
I grew up in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. It was a small town surrounded by farmland . . . the kind of town where you greet people by name on Main Street. It was only an hour's drive to the ocean. So every summer we spent family vacations on Long Beach Island. My brother and I would ride the waves during the day and play miniature golf at night. It's the kind of idyllic memory that stays in your head long after you've grown up and moved away. After graduating from high school and spending two years at Rider University, I transferred to the University of Alabama where I met my husband, Richard. Eventually his job brought him to Arizona. We both fell in love with the desert and wanted to stay here forever. Still, during the heat of the Arizona summers, those ocean memories would come rushing back. So-after years of sweaty summers-my husband and I finally built a house on Long Beach Island, the same island where my brother and I rode the waves as kids. In the story business, that's called "coming full circle." These days, Richard and I divide our time between the desert and the ocean. In the words of Junie B. Jones, I'm a lucky duck.
Q. What inspired you to start writing?
In my case, it was sort of "reverse" inspiration. I got a degree in secondary education. My plan was to teach high school history and political science. But, because of a scheduling problem my senior year, I ended up doing my student teaching in the seventh grade. The word disaster doesn't really cover this one. I'll spare you the details. But as I ran screaming from the school building every day, I knew that I would never be a teacher. My husband and I married after graduation, and started a family. A few years later, when I was ready to go to work, I was still haunted by the memories of student teaching. So I was "inspired" to try my hand at writing instead.
Q. How did you go about getting published?
The first children's novel I wrote was Operation: Dump the Chump. As soon as it was finished, I bought a copy of Writer's Market, found some addresses, and started sending it off to publishers who were accepting unsolicited manuscripts. It was rejected three times. All three rejections managed to work in the classic industry one-liner, "It isn't right for our list."
The fourth time I sent it to Alfred Knopf, Inc. A few weeks later, they called and said it was exactly right for their list. I felt like I'd hit the lottery.
Q: You've written middle-grade novels, early chapter books, and picture books. Which do you like writing best?
I can't really say which I like best. But after all the Junie B. books I've written, those certainly come the easiest. The middle-grade novels are more of a challenge. But in some ways, that makes them more rewarding. The last two I've written (Mick Harte Was Here and The Graduation of Jake Moon) were both about very sensitive topics, so it took a long time to get them exactly right. But I think those two books have made me the most proud.
Q. Tell us about your most recent picture book.
It's called, MA! There's Nothing to Do Here! It's about a baby in utero who is bored out of his mind. The idea for it was born (so to speak) when my daughter-in-law, Renee, invited me to my first grandson's ultrasound. Although I had never had an ultrasound myself, I'd seen pictures of other babies in utero. But I wasn't prepared for how amazing it would be to see my own little grandbaby on that screen. I felt like I was watching the Discovery Channel.
Q. How much did you continue to think about the baby after seeing the ultrasound? How did this develop into the idea for the book?
A. On the way out of the doctor's office, I remember thinking, Okay, so now we're all going back to our busy lives. But the baby is still in there just floating around. Except for an occasional kick or hiccup, he's got absolutely nothing to do.
A few months later-when I was getting ready to give Renee a baby shower-I wrote this poem, framed it, and gave it to her as a shower gift.
Q. Of the characters you've created, who is your favorite?
A. This would be a bit like picking a favorite child. I don't have a single favorite character, but again, I lived with the characters Mick and Phoebe Harte and Jake and Skelly Moon for a very long time. So those four are the most dear to me.
The characters I've had the most fun with have been the little ones. Little kids are so free to say whatever is on their minds. They aren't silenced by peer pressure and the notion that they have to sound cool. Molly Vera Thompson in The Kid in the Red Jacket is six, and Thomas Russo in My Mother Got Married and Other Disasters is five. They both were such fun to write about that they led to the creation of Junie B. Jones.
Q. Is Junie B. modeled after you as a child? Did you ever do any of the things that Junie B. does?
A. I was sent to "Principal" in first grade for talking. There were lots of notes sent home that year, as well. My father was on the Board of Education. Not good.
Q. There's been some criticism of the Junie-speak in the series. How do you answer concerns that Junie's grammar is not good for young readers?
A. Honestly, most of the grown-ups I hear from are writing to tell me that Junie B. Jones got their reluctant readers to read. I have drawers full of letters from parents and teachers that are so meaningful to me, I can't bear to part with them. These are adults who understand that fictional literature plays a whole different role in children's lives than a book of grammar or a basic reader.
That having been said, there are always going to be a handful of people who denigrate books that speak in a voice other than their own. I've stopped trying to explain the concept of literature to people like that. Wasted time better spent.
8. What makes you laugh?
My sense of humor is a little bit off-center, I think. In the movies, I usually laugh at parts that no one else seems to think are funny. Then there are movies like Young Frankenstein where I laugh from the opening scene straight through to the end.
Lots of other things make me laugh, as well. My husband and sons make me laugh. My dog. My grandsons. Friends. The absurdities of life. My lopsided cakes. The list goes on . . .
What advice do you have for teachers that are aspiring writers? For kids?
There's nothing revolutionary in my advice, I'm afraid. It's the same old stuff. Write as much and as often as you can. Try different genres to find your niche. Then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. And-above all-be your own worst critic.
This review is from: Junie B. Jones Audio Collection, Books 1-8 (Audio CD)
How fabulous is this? As a mother facing a very long car trip last summer I was looking for something fun for the kids to listen too. Knowing my Junie B. fan gets "queasy" when she tries to read in the car this was the perfect solution! It was hysterical to listen too and a nice break from the kids music Mom had to endure. I found myself playing it even after the kids fell alseep!! We are going on the same car trip again this summer and Wowie wow wow! There is a CD version!
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This review is from: Junie B. Jones Audio Collection, Books 1-8 (Audio CD)
I purchased the books on CD for my daughter because my son had them on cassette tape. However, to my dismay, the stories are split between 5 CDs and some stories are continued from one CD to the next. The stories themselves are wonderful, however, my advice is to purchase them on cassette tape so you don't have to switch CDs mid-story.
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This review is from: Junie B. Jones Audio Collection, Books 1-8 (Audio CD)
My kindergartener adores Junie B and she LOVES these CDs. We've been reading Junie B books for more than a year and the CDs are a treat so she can continue "reading" when the lights go out at bedtime. I'm not crazy about Junie B (she gets in a lot of trouble, is rude and uses poor grammar) but I do enjoy the CDs ... they're funny and performed well AND, they occasionally provide teaching moments (when I can turn to my daughter and say: "I'm not sure I'd want to be friends with a girl like Junie B.")
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