Junie B. Jones books

Have any of you read the Junie B. Jones series to your kids? Are they any good?

 

My daughter loves them, and still reads them at almost age 9. (started at age 5) We have listened to the whole series as Audio books in the car, and also read all the books. The grammar in the books is horrible, as it is as if the 5/6 year old is talking. She also gets in a lot of trouble and does not listen well to grown-ups.

When I read them out loud, I tend to correct the grammar, as I just can't bring myself to talk that way. We also had a discussion in our house about her behavour, and how it was not appropriate behaviour.

They were one of the first series of books that she read independantly.

I personally prefer the Magic Treehouse and Magic Schoolbus books.

T

 

My girls were so-so with those books. Claire thought they were funny, but Junie B is so incredibly naughty, it made her uncomfortable. Izzy is a realistic kind of girl, so she thought Junie B's stuff was kinda funny, but so not real that she could hardly handle reading it :laughing:

And to be honest, I'm pretty glad they didn't love them. Like pp said, the grammer is horrendous. And the naughty behavior is really, really bad! The way she treats other kids in the book is not ok by me, and I don't find it humorous when others treat kids like that, or make fun of others that treat kids that way (name calling, not including, etc). The author makes it into a fun/funny thing, and it's not. I initially wanted to ban my kids from reading them, but then we just used the book as lesson books on what to do "in this situation".

Oooh, and for what it's worth, my kids :wub: the Magic Treehouse and Magic Schoolbus books!!

 

Ok good to know. I don't need my kids learning any additional bad behaviors, they pick those up well enough on their own. I saw them in the Scholastic book order form and was going to try them, but I think I'll skip it.

 

I checked out one from the library, and couldn't stomach it. The grammar is awful -- I think it's supposed to be funny, but I don't know any 5/6-year-old who speaks that way.

Nadia is really into the Rainbow Magic fairies series right now -- there are pet fairies, weather fairies, jewel fairies, etc. Each set has seven books in it. I've only glanced at them, but they're cute, and worlds better than Junie B. They might be more appropriate as your kids start reading independently, though, as they might be kind of painful to read aloud.

Magic Treehouse books are really good, and Nadia just loves them.

 

My oldest learned to read in 1st grade with those books. They were the ONLY books that caught his attention.
I agree that the grammer is horrible but it kind of depends on how they read it. In first grade my ds needed to read to me and it was easy for me to say, "how could that be worded correctly?" or "what other word should she have used". And he would correct it. So it can also be a learning tool. He loved that she was a bit quirky and got into trouble.
He went from almost being held back in 1st and finally, at the end of the year and 15 JBJ books later :laughing: he was a great reader and in 4th grade is reading at a 6th grade level.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I'm not so keen on them, grammar not good and using words like 'stupid' etc which my kids are not allowed to use. Having said that Jessica is reading them for her reading book at school which she brings home each evening. I did mention to her I didn't think they were the best books so after the 1st one I guess she told her teacher so brought home another book. Then book after was back to Junie B Jones as all the other kids in her reading group like them.

 

We've read a couple of the Rainbow Magic series. We read Holly, the Christmas Fairy and one of the dance fairies. They are really cute. I'm ordering some on this next order. I may try the Magic Treehouse, I need something that appeals to boys and girls. Ryan isn't too keen on fairies. :laughing:

 

My oldest did enjoy reading them in K and 1st grade and thought they were funny and they are easy, but like others have said the Grammar is horrible. I have a really hard time reading them since it's written like a kid would write. I always tried to encourage her to read other books instead of those.

 

They read them to them in school here. I hate them. I told the girls they can get them from the library, but I won't read them, and I won't buy them. JBJ is a rude child and no one corrects her and I am a grammar nerd. I don't even like that Cookie Monster uses bad grammar. I think kids shows/literature should lead by example in the area of grammar and syntax. They have plenty of chances to create/hear mistakes w/o having them deliberately introduced.

 

Oh I am so glad I saw this. I borrowed a couple from a friend for Leah and I am having such a hard time reading them with her.

 

Haven't tried them. But on spring break, dh's aunt (we're going to visit in Houston) bought tickets for us to go see a Junie B. Jones play where she gets a new little brother and thinks he's a monkey. I had heard enough about the books that I really didn't want them, but I figured the play was good fun on spring break.

We LOVE the Rainbow Magic books. Sarah adores them. Timothy likes being Jack Frost and stealing things from her. The Magic Treehouse also has gone over very well. We've also found some simpler Star Wars books that he's getting into.

Marissa

 

We have books as well as audio versions of many - they are a big hit here.

Even my oldest kids will listen when I read to the young ones :laughing:

 

I dont like them for the same reasons as PP.

I would rather the Magic Tree house, Cam Jansen, & the Littles are my favorites---A to Z Mysteries are also good.

Here is a list of good beginning chapter book series that were popular w/ the kids I taught:

A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy
Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Cam Jansen by David Adler
Cobble Street Cousins by Cynthia Rylant
Herbie Jones by Suzy Kline
Horrible Harry by Suzy Kline
Jigsaw Jones by James Preller
The Littles by John Peterson
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
Marvin Redpost by Louis Sachar
Rainbow Magic by Daisy Meadows
Time Warp Trio by John Scieszka

 

Odd man out here! I love them!

I taught 1st grade and this was absolutely one of their favorite characters! I sometimes would pause when she spoke incorrectly and would ask my students how we actually say what she just said although it was always obvious so it was not this long grammar lesson. They almost always picked it up before I even paused. I also would pause when a character in the book would be mean to someone and we would talk about that situation. And then of course we would all laugh when something funny happened!

As mentioned above, I love the Cam Jansen books.

 

We checked one out from the library and that was it. The grammar grated on my nerves and so did her behavior. My daughter loves the Magic Tree House series though. She's also started getting into the Ivy and Bean series. Now those actually crack all of us up.

 

My daughter loved them! We had great conversations about Junie- is she being rude or just selfish? Does she truly hate May or is she maybe a little envious? My kids think her grammer is such a hoot. I think the Junie phases lasted abot 6 weeks during which we read every book. Once we finished the books it died out. Not the sort of books to re-read.

As for magic tree house- Ugh. My kids can't tolerate that every sentence is 5 words long. The conversations are so unnatural with a lack of pronouns. My son's best friend loved them, so you just have to try them out for yourself and see.

The rainbow fairy books were so-so in my house. We love cam jansen and also Henry and Mudge is good for reading to themselves.

 

Amazon says The Littles and Cam Jensen are for 9-12?? Yea or nea?

 

I took a list too the library yesterday. I think the Cam Jansen's are too old for my kids at this point. Too many words to sit and read on the couch. However, if we're in the car, I can sit in the front seat and read (hold the book back whenever there is a picture) and there will be absolute dead silence from the backseat. So, I'll be stocking up on books for the trip to Houston in 2 weeks.

What I did find at the library yesterday that wasn't on my list is the "Geronimo Stilton" books. It's about a mouse name Geronimo Stilton that writes a newspaper in New Mouse City. The author of the book is also listed at Geronimo Stilton. I picked them up because every page is visually quite interesting. There are a ton of color illustrations throughout. But also certain words will be printed in colors and be printed in different fonts. Since Timothy isn't reading by himself yet, he gets bored sitting next to me while I read. These are giving him plenty of visual to look at while I'm reading.

Marissa

 

Annie loves them and can read them herself. I agree, the grammar is horrible, but some of the things she says are just hysterical when DH and I read them aloud. It cracks us up. I also agree that Junie does not model very good behavior, but when I'm reading them to Annie we talk about how she treats people and what would be a better thing to do in a particular situation.

I like the Magic Tree House books and just bought a bunch from her kindergarten teacher. I'd much rather have her read those because they actually have real information in them. I like that she can learn some non-fiction information as she reads. Now I just need Easter to get here so we can give her some!

 

Trish, I own just about every one, and my higher first grade students love to read them independently. When Ben and Hannah are ready to read them, I would let them. They are fun and motivating, something you want for new readers.

HOWEVER, if you are looking to read a chapter book to the kids, I would maybe start with Magic Tree House. I have attempted a couple different books (both within this series, and other assorted books), but mine are just not ready.

And because of Ryan and his food issues (which sound to be changing), you may want to check out The Chocolate Touch, where everything the character touches turns to chocolate. That is an easy chapter book.

 

my kids never got into them and the bad grammar and bad behavior totally irritates me.

 

Thanks Kate, I'll try The Chocolate Touch. We did listen to one of the Magic Treehouse books on CD (they got it from school) and it held their interest. They do OK with chapter books, I don't read them all at once and just do one or two chapters a night. Sofie really enjoyed the Rainbow Magic ones so I'll be getting some more of those. Thanks for all the suggestions. I love reading to them, but prefer it when it's something I enjoy as well.

 

Maddie has a few of the Junie B. books and she likes them okay. My mom spotted a set of the Magic Treehouse books 1-35 in the Scholastic book order so she got them for the kids. Both of them love the books. Connor reads them in order and Maddie likes to skip around. I noticed that when Maddie reads the Junie B. books she fixes the words herself.

 

My son loved the Junie B Jones series. He hates to read and has only gotten in to a few series, this was one of them, along with the Magic Tree House books, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. I think Junie B is fantastic, even for boys.

 

My boys went through a Junie B. phase last year in first grade. They really don't get into the Magic Treehouse books, but I think they might when they start understanding the history that is behind many of the books. They both love, love, love Dan Gutman books. His "Weird School" books are great for beginning readers. They are very silly! Every book starts out "My name is AJ, and I hate school." Of course by the end, he always loves school. The first book is "Miss Daisy is Crazy", and it is about the teacher fooling them into learning by making the kids "teach" her math.

 

Trish,
I like Junie B. for a few reasons. First, you can make a game out of correcting her grammar. Excellent teaching moment! Second, little ones can relate because her inside thoughts really help them become better writers themselves. Finally, she uses figurative speech (and not always correctly) so you can talk about what it really means. More great teachable moments. :wub:

All great books. For them to understand them when independently reading I suggest waiting til at least 2nd grade. Magic Tree House is a 3rd grade reading level and being historical fiction, I would say you need a lot of prior knowledge to understand that theme.

Definitely. They are a level M which is end of 2nd grade, beginning 3rd.

WOW, she is reading MTH in kindergarten! That is really amazing! Those are pretty meaty.

 

Sharon, exactly! If you dont have the background knowledge, you just can't understand this subject matter. More appropriate for 3rd and up really.

 

I am going less by series and more by author. My girls love Beverly Cleary, especially the Ramona books, and they also greatly enjoyed EB White. They probably do series at school, but I have so many great books that I read when I was a child and still own that I have them read those.

 

Junie B. books make me laugh - and my children, as well. My oldest son wasn't in to them and I developed serious anti-Junie B. bias. :ibiggrin: Then my 2nd son was a reluctant reader and really really got into Junie B. I decided that if the books were getting him to read, I wouldn't worry so much about whether I was opposed to them. Over the years, as that son and then my twins became admirers of Junie B. I've learned to love her. I still have a hard time reading them aloud for the reasons that have already been mentioned, but I crack up when I listen to her books on tape.

 

My kids used to love Junie B Jones, and read probably almost all of them. They outgrew them, of course. They also liked many that were mentioned too. A-Z Mysteries, Horrible Harry, Cam Janson, and they LOVED My Weird School Daze.