MODULE 13: Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed

Genre:

Graphic Novels and Series

Book Summary:

It’s picture day, only Junie B. Jones makes the worst face ever just as the photographer takes her picture. During the class photo, Paulie Allen Puffer tells Junie B. that there is a monster under her bed. His proof is in the drool on her pillow every morning. Junie thinks her “piggy toes” look like sausages and the monster will want to eat them. Despite her parents telling her that monsters are not real, Junie has a hard time going to sleep and tries to get out of bed and even attempts sleeping in her baby brother’s bed. After a restless night, Junie goes to school and gets her school pictures and gets an idea. She puts her ugly photo under her bed to scare off the monster.

APA Reference of Book:

Park, B. (1997). Junie B. Jones has a monster under her bed. New York: Random House.

Impressions:

Junie B. is an adorable, precocious character who gets into trouble even when she’s not trying. I have enjoyed reading this series with my daughters, but we somehow missed this one. As far as plot goes, the formula for each Junie B. book is predicable and reminds me of an 80s family sitcom. At first, I was not fond of Junie’s dialogue and sometimes inappropriate and disrespectful actions. But once you fall in love with her, it’s easy to overlook these minor faults. It’s also clear that Junie is not a bad child, just headstrong and willful. As the parent of a child who is a little like Junie, I can sympathize with her parents’ exasperation with her antics. However, despite her best efforts, Junie is a lovable character.

Professional Review:

Junie's kindergarten classmates convince her that an invisible monster lives under her bed. Her parents and grandmother are unable to convince her otherwise until Junie hits upon the idea of putting her unflattering school picture under the bed to frighten the monster. In Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook, the little girl discovers that "finders keepers losers weepers" is not an appealing philosophy when she loses the special gloves her grandfather gave her and the child who finds them doesn't take them to the lost and found. Junie's first-person narration is sprinkled with deliberate grammatical errors and misunderstood word usage in an attempt to show a five-year-old's viewpoint ( "I runned home," "They got stoled on purpose."). Precocious use of sophisticated language is also used to achieve an intended humorous effect. The black-and-white, full- and half-page illustrations reflect Junie's cockeyed view of the world and will help attract beginning chapter-book readers. The issues the child is dealing with are right on target for the intended age group, but Junie's personality is more annoying than endearing and the humor lacks freshness and spontaneity. But where the series is popular. - Lisa Smith, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NY

APA Reference of Professional Review:

Smith, L. (1997). Junie B. Jones has a monster under her bed / Junie B. Jones is not a crook. School Library Journal, 43(11), 96.

Library Uses All of the Junie B. Jones books are great for read-alouds, either by the teacher/librarian or by students.

Readalikes:

Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park – Read more about June B. Jones and her antics in kindergarten and first grade.

Fancy Nancy series by Jane O’Connor – Nancy and her friend Bree find fancy adventures in everyday life. Readers will also learn Nancy’s favorite fancy words.

Judy Moody series by Megan McDonald – Readers who enjoyed Junie B. Jones or Fancy Nancy will appreciate Judy Moody, third grader, and her crazy adventures.