Lessons from Junie B. Jones

Benjamin finished kindergarten earlier this year, and throughout the school year we read the Junie B. Jones series. I loved the series when I was young. My favorite is Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal. I grew up going to and hosting sleepovers, but I never had one quite like that! Benjamin and Luna have thoroughly enjoyed the series - so far we have only read the Kindergarten ones. We'll read the first grade ones this up coming school year. It has been really interesting hearing Benjamin's reactions to the situations that Junie B. finds herself in. He points out when any of the characters are making bad choices or being mean, and I have helped him identify when they are being nice.

As an adult and a mom reading the series this time, I noticed some parenting/teaching lessons that I missed as a kid. There are a few times where Junie B. does in fact make a choice that warrants the discipline that she receives - like when she cuts her stuffed animals and her own hair, or when she colors on her graduation gown. Barbara Park helps the reader know when Junie B. knows that she is making a wrong choice by having Junie B. use language (Junie B. is the narrator) like "sneaky" and "quietly" to describe her actions. 

However, most of the time, Junie B. is just reacting to the circumstances around her. She still needs guidance and correction, but I don't think she needs to be yelled at by her teacher or parents as often as she does. In fact, reading the series has made me check how often I yell at my kids - I'm not perfect at it, but I'm working on it. Which, I think, might have been Barbara Park's intentions. I really love how Junie B's grandpa Frank Miller and the school principal treat her. They are both so patient with her, and they aren't as put off by her little quirks the way other adults in her life are. They are great examples on how to interact with children.

Like any series,  the side characters - Junie B's classmates - really bring the stories to life and teach great lessons about kindness and friendship.

Grace is, in my opinion, the kindest kindergartner in Room 9. She's honest and tells it like it is, but she rarely gets angry nor misbehaves. I think her character is a great role model.

Lucille is a product of her grandmother's spoiling. Honestly, she is not kind, but at that age it isn't her fault because her grandmother raised her that way. Junie B. and Grace are friends with Lucille regardless of her less than gracious language towards them. They will defend themselves when they need to, but I like how they constantly turn the other cheek and continue to play with Lucille. At the same time, however, Benjamin has had friends that, like Lucille, are

not consistently nice to him or others. It got to the point where I told Benjamin that he had two choices: walk away from that kid and no longer play with them, or shrug it off.  With the exception of a few incidents that absolutely needed to be addressed, Benjamin - bless his heart - chose to shrug off the mean things that kid would do and continue playing with them. I was honestly hoping that Benjamin would choose to walk away from that friendship, but the important thing is he made the decision that he wanted to make. I didn't make him stay friends with that kid.

"cry baby William" as Junie B. calls him, is the Neville Longbottom of Junie B. Jones. He is scared of everything, and cries easily. This time reading the series, I saw Benjamin in William. Benjamin has anxiety, and my heart was softened towards William as I saw the similarities between my own son and this character. Then, in one of the last books of the kindergarten series, Junie B. Jones is Captain Field Day, William gains his entire class's love and respect when he is able to do pull ups on the monkey bars when no one else is able to for the field day activities. He is a perfect example to not judge on the outside, and to give everyone a chance. I love William.

"meanie Jim" sent me two strong messages in two different books. In Junie B. Jones and Meanie Jim's Birthday, Jim invites every kid in his class to his birthday party except Junie B. He gets in trouble with his mom and the principal, and is forced to give Junie B. an invitation. On the day of the

party, Junie B. is on her way to his party when she changes her mind and she goes to her grandparents' house instead and spends the day there. Even though she wanted an invitation, she didn't actually want to go to his party because he is mean to her. The weeks leading up to Benjamin's birthday I felt stress if I should invite the whole class. There seems to be a collective attitude online that you either invite the whole class or don't invite anyone. I knew I couldn't spend the money it would take to host his entire class, and we didn't have room in the small apartment we lived in at the time. I decided to ask Benjamin who he wanted to invite, and wrote down the names that he said. He chose to invite six boys from his class. I asked his teacher what her rules were on birthday invitations, and she said that it was best to come the last five minutes of class. She said some kids would get their feelings hurt, but it was okay. I'm glad she had that attitude because I agree, we aren't going to get invited to everything, and it's important to learn that early. Now, in Junie B.'s situation, it is wrong to invite all but one, but it's completely okay to invite a few and not the rest. Three kids in Benjamin's class did express disappointment in not getting invited. I remained silent and let Benjamin handle it, and he kindly said, "Maybe next time."

In Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine, Junie B. receives a Valentine gift from a secret

admirer. It turns out that the valentine is from meanie Jim! Junie B. is understandably surprised, he has been mean to her the whole school year. She asks him why he is so mean to her if he likes her. Jim tells her that she makes school interesting, and it wouldn't be interesting anymore if everyone knew, so he asks her to keep it a secret and act like nothing has changed. She agrees. This plot fits right into "boys will be boys" and "he's mean to you because he likes you." Which, of course is a big no-no in today's society. Something interesting that Barbara Park does is she neither condones nor condemns Jim's actions with her words in that book or future books, but her silence in future books sends a clear message. In all of the books after  the Mushy Gushy Valentine, Junie B. never mentions Jim's feelings for her. He's still meanie Jim, and she continues to defend herself. As the narrator, Junie B. never reminds the reader that her fighting with Jim is just for pretend so the class doesn't know he likes her. I think that tells us what Barbara Park thinks of that kind of behavior, and what she wants Junie B. to think of it too: that it's not okay, and therefor not worth giving attention to.

I highly recommend reading the Junie  B. Jones series to your children. Today was Benjamin's first day of first grade, and I can't wait to start reading the Junie B. Jones first grader series!