Junie B. Jones



Junie B. Jones is a series of books aimed at elementary school audiences, written by Barbara Park. The "B." stands for "Beatrice," but she just likes B., and that's all. The stories are told in the first person by Junie B. herself, and all of the stories in the original series also include a brief letter at the end by Barbara Park.

Junie B. was originally conceived as a character that was Not Allowed to Grow Up, but Barbara Park changed her mind on this matter and "graduated" Junie B. to first grade, with the latter books in the series released under the banner "Junie B., First Grader." There were a total of 27 books in the series, 17 in the original line and 10 in the "Junie B., First Grader" series, as well as a couple of supplementary titles. These were released approximately once a year until 2007. No new releases were seen after Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny, and it was assumed that the series has ended, until Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten (and Other Thankful Stuff) was announced for August 2012. The Junie B. Jones series made ALA's list of the top 100 challenged books or books series from 2000-2009, related to complaints regarding the social values taught by the books and that Junie B. Jones is a poor role model, due to her poor spelling & grammar and mouthiness. This series has spawned a stage show by TheatreWorks USA.

Junie B. Jones celebrates her 20th anniversary in 2012 and a full-color anniversary edition of the first book in the series, Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, was released in April 2012, with bonus material.

Junie B Jones and her books contain examples of the following:
""My name is Junie B. Jones. The "B" stands for Beatrice. Except, I don't like Beatrice. I just like "B" and that's all." (All of the books open with this line.) "Wowie wow wow!" "Hurray! Hurray!" "That is a hoot, I tell you!" "(name/pronoun) am/is a lucky duck." "I hearded that (name/pronoun) is easier than my math!" "Hello. How are you today? I am fine." (When she gets in trouble) "HEY! WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS?" (When she didn't see something) "My teacher's name is Mrs. She has another name, too. But I just like Mrs. and that's all." (in all of the kindergarten books) "I am not even scared of him, hardly." (When referring to her first grade teacher, Mr. Scary.) "The end." (when she's finished telling her stories to other characters or telling the truth) "X looked up at the ceiling. I looked up there too. But I didn't see anything." (In reference to when adults roll their eyes at Junie B.) "Missy's my name when I'm in trouble." "(Varies) and I MEAN it!" "(Varies) And she (Grandma Helen Miller) said don't call her Helen." "Yeah, only..." "Plus also..." "Here's the problem..." (when she doesn't like something) "On account of..." "Dumb Bunny" (mostly mentioned in Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny) "She forgot my B again!" (when others don't call her Junie B.) "Boom.....Do the math" "Speedy quick" "Only too bad for _____, because..." "Except not (actually) (name)" "CALL 911 CALL 911!!" (When in shock or scared) "How did you do that Maxine. How did you do that" (Junie B. Jones is a Beauty Shop Guy)"
 * Agony of the Feet: Happens to Junie B.'s toe in Junie B., First Grader: One Man Band, when she kicks her mother's watering can that has a picture of a cow. Her sore toe became important afterwards.
 * Alpha Bitch / Spoiled Sweet: Lucille switches between these. Oftentimes she can be very haughty and bratty, but the rest of the time she shows that she is a genuinely good friend.
 * May, on the other hand, is a pure Alpha Bitch. Lucille also becomes more Alpha Bitchy in first grade.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Baby Ollie, to Junie B.
 * Berserk Button: Junie B.'s is when anyone refers to her as simply "Junie," and does not include the "B."
 * Black Best Friend: Grace.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: Junie B. some of the time.
 * May.
 * Buffy-Speak: A more childish version. Really, "Junie Speak" could be its own trope.
 * The Bully: That meanie Jim
 * It is revealed in Mushy Gushy Valentine that
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: When Junie B. is upset and crying because her white kindergarten graduation dress is covered in grape juice stains, it is that meanie Jim who gets everyone in the class to cover their own dresses in stains to make her feel better.
 * Catch Phrase:


 * Children Are Innocent: Junie B., while bratty, is naive and trusting.
 * Christmas Episode: Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (P.S.: So Does May).
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Grace is never seen again after Junie B., First Grader.
 * Companion Cube: Junie B.'s toys, including Phillip Johnny Bob (her stuffed elephant), Raggedy Ruth and Larry (her Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls), and Teddy (her teddy bear). Ironically, they're shown to speak through her.
 * Completely Missing the Point: Junie B. OWNED this one.
 * Demoted to Extra: Lucille starting from the same book mentioned above.
 * Embarrassing Middle Name: Junie Beatrice Jones.
 * Fire-Forged Friends: Junie B. and Jim from Mushy Gushy Valentime onward, and later, Junie B. and May briefly at the end of Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (P.S.: So Does May).
 * 555: "Its name is 555-5555. It's hard to remember, because I keep forgetting the 5."
 * Genki Girl: Junie B. Jones. This is sometimes lampshaded by the characters, particularly Junie B.'s teachers.
 * Halloween Episode: Junie B., First Grader: BOO...and I MEAN It!.
 * Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Paulie Allen Puffer, who often tells Junie B. stories that can't possibly be true, but she believes them anyway.
 * Little-Known Facts: Paulie Allen Puffer
 * Locked in the Bathroom: In Yucky Blucky Fruitcake, Junie B. locks herself in the bathroom to pretend throwing sponges at her principal at the school's carnival. She actually throws them at the toilet, but then they get stuck in the drain, causing the toilet to flood the bathroom by accident.
 * Long Running Book Series: First published in 1992 and continued until 2011, with a total of 27 books in the main line and three supplementary books.
 * Meganekko: Junie B. in the first grade series.
 * Averted earlier: Junie B. was terribly worried that she would look nerdy when she got glasses in Junie B., First Grader: At Last! In the end, her new friends supported her and helped her to see that her glasses were actually pretty cool.
 * Mouthy Kid: Junie B. herself.
 * The Musical: The TheaterWorks stage adaptation.
 * Negative Continuity: According to Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School, Junie B.'s mom used to be at a school called Brainerd Elementary in 1st grade between 1983 and 1984, despite the series itself being created in the early 1990s. At least her mother should have been said to be in first grade sometime in the 1960s or 1970s.
 * No Indoor Voice: Junie B.
 * No Name Given: Junie B.'s kindergarten teacher, literally named "Mrs." (as Junie B. calls her), whose surname was never revealed in the kindergarten series. Additionally, her first grade teacher is referred to as "Mr. Scary," which surely can't be his real last name.
 * Noodle Incident: "Walking on cake is the funnest thing I love! 'Cause one time at a picnic, I stepped on my grampa's Little Debbie snack cake with bare feet. And the creamy filling is very squishing between my toes!"
 * Potty Emergency: Junie B. goes through this in the climax of Stupid Smelly Bus, when she tries to open several bathroom doors at school, only to find them locked. Thus, she rushes to the nurse's office and calls 911 on the phone. When she finally runs out the school exit, a green fire truck, white police car and red ambulance drive up to the parking lot on purpose. Then the janitor stops her when this happens, but Junie B. convinces him that she's having an emergency, so he unlocks a girls' bathroom door for her.
 * Rich Bitch: Lucille only some of the time. The rest of the time she's a Spoiled Sweet and legitimately good friend.
 * School Play: The premise of Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked.
 * Secret Santa: Junie B. and her class are assigned to do this in Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (P.S.: So Does May) and Junie B. is less than thrilled when she is assigned be secret Santa to her nemesis, May.
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Junie B. and Jim from Mushy Gushy Valentime onward.
 * Slumber Party: The premise of Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: Lucille, who was Spoiled Sweet sometimes, and a genuinely good friend in kindergarten, becomes a total bitch in first grade.
 * Unusual Euphemism: Junie B.'s mispronunciations of words, such as "pasketti" (spaghetti), "bestest" (best), "valentime" (valentine), "splode" (explode), "stomple" (stomp), etc.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Junie B., Lucille, and sometimes Grace in kindergarten.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Junie B. is afraid of roosters (because she thinks "they can peck your head into a nub"), ponies (because she thinks "they can stomple you to the ground and kill you"), and clowns (because she thinks "they are not normal people").