Junie B. Jones Audio Collection, Books 1-4 [AUDIOBOOK] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio Cassette)

by Barbara Park (Author), Lana Quintal (Narrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Outrageously sassy Junie B. Jones will make young kids crave their daily dose of reading. And with this handy four-volume boxed set, whether they start with Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying or Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth, readers will laugh out loud at Junie B.'s hilarious mishaps and breathtakingly horrible grammar. Although the books should come with a caveat--Kids, don't try this syntax at home!--alert parents and teachers can use her malapropisms as learning opportunities for their impressionable charges. The set contains the first four titles in Barbara Park's extensive series (energetically illustrated by Denise Brunkus), including Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business and Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. All are great for reading aloud. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-This recording gives the full flavor of Barbara Park's delightful character, Junie B. The recording includes Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (Random, 1992), Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth (Random, 1993), Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business (Random, 1993), and Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying (Random, 1994).These stories take us inside the kindergartner's mind as we get to know the fears, frustrations and reasoning of an "almost 6" year old. Lana Quintal's narration is outstanding, and her voice is perfect as the sassy Junie B. Listeners are always aware which character is speaking by the seemingly effortless changes in modulation that Quintal uses. The Junie B. Jones series is wildly popular with the first through third grade set. This recorded book will delight students, and could be used to good advantage as a read-along for new or struggling readers. The quality of this recording is outstanding, and Quintal's narration provides sufficient interest to hold listeners attention to the end. An important addition to elementary school and public libraries serving the needs of emerging readers.
Jackie Ives, Corinth Elementary School, Shawnee Mission, KS
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Imagination Studio; Unabridged edition (April 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807206822
• ISBN-13: 978-0807206829
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (179 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,038,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

454 of 546 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I'm sorry, but I just don't get it..., September 14, 2003

By	DTG "dtg9000" (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Junie B. Jones's First Boxed Set Ever! (Books 1-4) (Paperback)

This is apparently a minority opinion, but I think these books are horrible for children in the 1st or 2nd grade. Schools seem to love them - is there some special highly-technical educational matrix that this junk fits into that I need a degree in education to understand? My 1st-grade daughter reads everything, and on her second day her teacher recommended "The Dirty, Smelly Bus". We read it together, and I had to stop every other sentence and talk about how we don't call people stupid, how we don't judge others by the fact that you can beat them up, how you don't deal with being afraid by calling everyone names and hitting them, and how you don't go rummaging through other people's belongings and taking whatever you want. It's ridiculous. Not only is this behavior normal for the title character, there are no negative repercussions - it's considered "cute"!!. Perhaps the point is to get parents to spend time teaching kids how not to behave - but we get enough of that from real-life. There will be plenty of time for our children to become discriminating readers who know when they're reading a fun book - but at this age,at this stage, they are learning how to behave around others. When these books are encouraged by adults, a 1st-grader can't be blamed for thinking this is encouraged behavior. I think it's disingenuous for the literary review to flippantly say "don't try this grammar at home!" -- there's much worse in here than bad grammar for children of this age. Save the books for older readers, when they can actually understand the joke. Avoid the incorrect assumption that many adults (myself included at times)sometimes make that their young children have a higher level of sophistication than they really do.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Give Junie B. a Break, April 18, 2005

By	Sara Czara - See all my reviews

This review is from: Junie B. Jones's First Boxed Set Ever! (Books 1-4) (Paperback)

Sometimes, my eight-year-old's dance teacher will repeat the mistakes that my daughter and the rest of her classmates make. When she does this, the girls all giggle. She looks so silly when she dances like that!

When my eight year old reads a Junie B. Jones book, much of her laughter comes from knowing that Junie B. does not know how to speak proper English. She sounds so silly when she talks like that!

I would not read this series to a 3-year-old who is just learning to form sentences. (Duh.) But it's time to take a chill pill about J.B.'s improper grammar and hijinks. My children (6 and 8 years old) read these books, and they are at the tops of their classes in reading. They understand grammar rules, and are excellent spellers. Doesn't it seem even slightly unrealistic that one book series will corrupt a child's speech and manners, when that child is also exposed to other good literature?
Reading is supposed to be fun. Exposing children to many different kinds of characters in literature will only benefit them.
These books are innocent. Junie B is not overly sexualized, like some of the TV characters aimed at our young children. She doesn't worship the devil. And she does visit the principal's office regularly for her bad behavior (contrary to the statement that Junie never faces consequences for bad behavior.)
If you are really concerned about your child adopting Junie B's behavior, read a book aloud with your child. When Junie does something wrong, point your thumbs down. When she does something right, point your thumbs upward. Guess what! You will be surprised at how often you can give a thumbs up to Junie... when you are looking for something good instead of something to complain about.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy this only if your kid won't copy the title character, March 9, 2006

By	Anon Y. Mous "33scotty" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Junie B. Jones's First Boxed Set Ever! (Books 1-4) (Paperback)

I gave this series the lowest rating possible. I have read a dozen of these stories myself, and they just have nothing to offer to my kids. The title character Junie is at best a bad mouthed, obnoxious brat whose behavior probably irritates most parent readers to the point that they would almost commit child abuse to stop her. From the kid readers' standpoint, it might be enjoyable to live vicariously through Junie, since she's completely unrestrained and never really gets punished for what she does. I can certainly see how some young children would find that very appealing, though others might be distressed if they empathize with Junie's classmates.

Before making this series part of your child's reading experience, I suggest that you think about whether your child tends to copy the characters or language from the stories that she reads. If the answer is yes, then save your family from years of therapy, and DO NOT BUY JUNIE B. JONES. Buy Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, Barbara Robinson's Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the Pippi Longstocking series, and even Curious George. These have naughty behavior, but they are much more balanced. If you are trying to wean your child from picture books, try Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series of chapter books.

Even if you don't think your child will copy Junie, first read a few pages yourself, so you know exactly what you are passing along. Do NOT select this for a gift unless you know that the child in question enjoys the series AND the parent/guardian does not mind.