Junie B., first grader Book

Well Junie B., is at it again! Barbara Park really knows how to make this girl the funniest, believable grade oner in the world. Her use of a grade one's language is priceless to adults and engaging to the children who read her books. Every class has a Junie B. or May or Herbert and a Mr. Scary (the teacher), the fact that any child could see themselves as one of the characters in the story makes it believable, and the lesson to be learned is more poignant. The cover illustration of Junie B., craning her neck over so that she can clearly see the homework sitting on the desk next to her, makes everyone immediately think , she's cheating! In this story Junie B. struggles with the concept of cheating and learns that borrowing, or sharing someone else's school work is actually cheating. The first time she "borrows'" May's homework assignment right in the grade 1 classroom and it backfires on her big time. Junie B. tried to rationalize that borrowing and cheating are not the same thing, Mr. Scary and her Mom and Dad explain the difference so she could understand. The second time her best friend Herbert "shares" his spelling test with her and they both realize that it does not feel good to do things they know are wrong, even though they got away with it. Junie B. and her best friend work through their feelings and come up with a plan to make it right, but it only makes it worse for them. This book is so well written for its intended audience that children will have no problem figuring it out and realizing that in the end it is always best to tell the truth no matter what. This chapter book has very few illustrations, but they are very well placed, inject humor and help children easily identify with the characters in the story because the illustrations are drawn so well in the realistic style. Junie B. stories have just enough pictures to help children move from picture books to chapter books, they also help place the characters in settings that they understand. In this book Junie B. is at home, school and on the school bus but the text and illustrations work so well together in telling the story that children immediately understand where everything is taking place. Junie B. tells it like it is in a grade one mind, I remember reading Junie B. to my boys and they thought she was hilarious but they got it. They understood the message about what was right and what was wrong, just as any young reader will. I have quite a lot of Junie B. books in my library and they are great books to recommend to those children just starting to read on there own.