Customer Reviews

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

Because I don't get it. 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 this book. 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. Unless 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.

My name is Katherine. I used to be 5, but now I'm 6. I took this book to my school. My teacher loved it. She laughed. She read it to the class and her name is Mrs. Sellars. This book is funny and I like 'em and they're just cool. Junie's a kindergartner, I'm a kindergartner. She's p.m., I'm p.m. I wish she had a movie about Junie B. Jones. This book is about Junie taking the bus to school, but she didn't. I love the bus. And I like Junie B. The End.

I'm delighted that my 5 (almost 6) year old daughter loves to read, and I was thrilled that my wife managed to find some books that are at her reading level and yet tell real, and to some degree, compelling stories.

But after my 16 year old daughter caught a whiff of the books and told me they may not be so great, I read "Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus" for myself. On the surface, it's no worse than what my 5 year old has seen in life before. But the fact is that literature does something to us, more than entertaining us. As I learned in graduate school in English literature and have been learning ever since as a father, teacher, and pastor, literature not only delights but (as Horace said) teaches by delighting.

So what does "Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus" teach?

1. It teaches that hating things is normal and even funny.
"I HATE THIS STUPID DUMB CIRCLE."
"That Jim I hate."
"I hate it in this stupid smelly bus."

2. She calls lots of things stupid.

3. Some of the pictures are pictures of how I want my kids NOT to act: going "Ta Da! Here I am, aren't I cute?", covering her ears and stamping her foot when she doesn't like something, and giving a sassy and pretentious turn of the head back to another child. I've seen this exact pose on my 5 year-old, and now I think I know where it came from!

4. The humor in the book comes mostly from Junie doing things like hiding in the supply closet, wandering the school at will, and invading the nurse's office and dumping out band-aids and playing with crutches and plays with the phone. And, of course, calling 911 and having a fire truck, police car, and ambulance arrive because of the "emergency" she claimed to be having.

The consequences of all of this? Her Mother (there's not Dad in the book) tells her that what she did was very wrong. That's it.

The book is targeted for kindergarteners through 3rd graders. Is this what we want to communicate to them? Is this really the kind of literature that Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal want to promote?

Yikes!

I read this book out loud to my children in about 20 to 25 minutes. It took a while because my wife and my third grader were laughing so much. The next day I saw my first grader reading the book. I intend to buy more for her to read and for us to read out loud. It was fun.

Some reviewers seemed concerned that children may learn poor grammar and behavior from the book. Parents with kids who are not smart enough to know a joke should be careful! The rest of us will enjoy the humor.

I really enjoyed reading this book for my daughter who is 5. She and I had lots of laughs, but I am concerned about how many times this character uses the word STUPID. I would want to make parents aware, especially those whose child receives this as a gift as mine did. That way they could prepare their child that although Junie uses it without a care, we do not.

Writing about the first experiences of a child taking a bus to school is a good subject to read to children to help them better understand the process. However, author Karen Park writes characters that openly disrespect their parents and teachers. The language is also a bit much for a 5 or 6 year old, and words that are not appropriate to say out loud in school and should not be praised. The incorrect grammar is also something that children should not read or study. Before they can understand what is wrong about a sentence, they need to first learn the correct way of writing and proper sentence structure. I was very disappointed in this book and will not buy any more Junie B. Jones titles. Be warned.

I read the Junie B Jones books to my 1st graders, starting with this one. They absolutely love Junie B Jones! She does everything she's not supposed to do and she speaks to every child's whims and "if only I could's." The books are fast paced, funnier than funny, and the bestest of all, they make my kids WANT to read--it's every 1st grader's goal in my classroom to reach a competent reading level so s/he can check out a Junie B book. Bless you Barbara Parks!

Do you remember when it was scary to go to school? Kindergartner, Junie B. Jones thinks she is ready to start school until she has to ride the school bus. There are meanies on there and it is smelly, so when it is time to ride the bus home, she decides to stay at school and hide. Needless, to say Junie B. does some exploring and gets into trouble before it is all over. The way Junie B. thinks out loud and says exactly what she is thinking makes this book delightful to read out loud. Barbara Park has truly captured the voice and thoughts of a five year old. My second grade students beg me to read more everytime I start a new Junie B. book. Our librarian can't even keep them on the shelf because of their growing popularity. Some students that weren't reading much on their own have really taken a liking to the humorous antics of Junie B. Jones. I am looking forward to many more books in this series.

This book might catch your child's interest - but it is likely to be in the same way that a smart aleck kid from the neighborhood might - and it is not a positive way!

The grammar is poor - as an adult I understand that it's done for humorous effect; but my child doesn't get that! And Junie is rude, bossy, and she name calls; again, not the behavior I want my child emulating.

Overall, the books seem entertaining but not really beneficial in any other way; there are many better books out there to hold the attention of young readers.

Barbara Park has written the perfect series for young readers to make the leap from picture books to chapter books. My daughter is an advanced reader for her age, and these were ideal for her. No other chapter books have been simple enough to read and have held her attention long enough for her to make the transition, but Stupid Smelly Bus fit the bill. The chapters are short, yet each tells its own story and springboards into the next chapter.

I have to echo the sentiments of another reviewer... if you don't want your child reading about a child with poor manners and bad grammar, don't get a book called "Stupid Smelly Bus". Junie's innocence and poor choices are what give the stories the comedic momentum that make them so enjoyable. When one considers the best adult comedy - the funniest characters are nearly always the most flawed. Why should kids' comedy be any different? Young readers find Junie funny because they relate to her emotional reaction to certain situations, but they would never dream of saying the things she says or doing the things she does.

In short, this series is very entertaining and so readable that they make the perfect books for readers ready to read chapter books.