My son's kindergarten teacher reads the class Junie B. Jones books throughout the year and my son is a big fan. When we went to a book store and I told him to pick something to read on a plane, for a family trip, he picked a Junie B. Jones book and now we are starting to grab some from the library. He honestly doesn't care if he has already read them, and since I've read none (besides the one we bought) they are all new to me. One we recently read, from the library, was Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus.

In this book Junie writes in the first person and introduces herself and lets us know she is about to start kindergarten. She learns she has to take the bus to school and on the first day of school she isn't super happy about the things she has to do, and certain other students seem like goodie-two-shoes. When someone tells her something in particular about the bus she decides she doesn't want to take it home that afternoon (or ever again). And so at the end of the day she gets last in line and then sneaks off and hides in the classroom so she doesn't have to ride the bus.

Of course this worries her parents when she doesn't arrive home and the school gets involved trying to find her, even the police. It is a big ordeal. While her mother is very mad, once her mom learns why Junie B. doesn't want to ride the bus her mom has a good suggestion to make it better.

My son and I liked this book. Junie B definitely has reasons for the way she acts, but the format of this book makes it easy for me (or another adult) to discuss with a child why hiding in the school is a very bad idea. I read this book aloud to my son but it is reading level 2.0, which means children could read this on their own relatively young.

This book is part of a series of books written by Barbara Park and illustrated by Denise Brunkus. The illustrations are just in black and white and they do add to the story. We get a feel for what Junie B. looks like, and the facial expressions in many of the illustrations are great. There is a table of contents listing the titles of the 10 chapters in this 69 page book. The short chapters allow for great stopping points, especially for young readers.

Overall I am liking Junie B. Jones and this book is a good example of who Junie B. is: a unique little girl who kindergartners through a few grades higher will be able to relate with well.

Recommended: Yes