Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal

Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal by Barbara Park is a funny school story for 8 year olds, narrated by a girl who is almost six and has never once had a small opinion.

What happens

Junie B. saves her friend Grace a seat on the bus by putting her feet on it and screaming SAVED until everybody gives up.

That is the first page. You know exactly what you are in for.

Her other friend Lucille gets driven to school by her very rich grandmother in a big gold car. Junie B. and Grace climb into the back to admire the velvet seats and announce that they are darling. Lucille is furious, because she was in the middle of asking for a poodle and they have ruined it.

The fix, obviously, is for all three of them to sleep over at the rich grandmother's house and beg for the poodle together.

Being inside Junie B.'s head is the whole point of these. She gets things slightly wrong, defends them at volume, and moves on before anyone can correct her. A ballpark figure, she explains, is when you make up a number so people get off your back.

Her teacher is called Mrs. She has another name but Junie B. doesn't use it.

If your child is the one who narrates their entire day at you the second they get in the car, they will find a kindred spirit here.

Two things to know before you start.

The first is the grammar. Junie B. says runned, thinked and me and that Grace, on purpose, on nearly every page. Most children find it funny and keep their own writing separate. If yours is at the stage of copying everything, you may want to wait a bit.

The second is that she is American, and it shows. Kindergarten, nanna, sequins, a Cadillac she calls a Cattle Act. Nothing that stops a British child reading it, but the odd word will need explaining.

There is also a small stretch where Junie B. and Grace decide their own grandmothers are losers and duds for not being rich. It is played for a laugh and it is not dwelt on, though it is the sort of line a child might repeat at the wrong moment.

What to read next

The one where it all started is in the library too. The Stupid Smelly Bus is Junie B.'s very first day of school, and the bus is the thing she is most frightened of.