Junie B. Jones | Classroom Clubs

About the Junie B. Jones Books and This Guide

Meet Junie B. Jones, that lovable, mischievous kindergartner, in this humorous series by Barbara Park. Follow Junie B. from her first day of kindergarten to her last as she gets into one scrape after another. While laughing along with Junie B. and her friends, your students will begin to expand their word recognition, develop a sense of story, and begin to read these early chapter books on their own.

In this guide, a drama and language arts lesson has students reenact favorite fairy tales like Junie B. and her friends in Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal. Students can also perform original stories or embellish an old favorite. The science lesson in the second classroom activity focuses on the classification of animals. This topic is found in the book Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy.

About the Books

#10 Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal
Junie B. is spending the night at Lucille's richie nanna's giant house. Will it really be a dream come true? After breaking nanna's crystal and spilling on her white tablecloth, Junie B. realizes that having a regular grandma may be better than having a rich one.

Barbara Park says...

"When I was little, spending the night at a friend's house for the first time always felt like an adventure. I felt like a spy, almost. So many intriguing questions waiting to be answered.

What was her family like? What did they eat for dinner? Would I like it . . . or would I have to pretend to sneeze, and then quick spit it into my napkin? How late would I get to stay up? Were the parents nice . . . or would they yell at me if I got the giggles and couldn't go to sleep? What did everyone's pajamas look like? What did they have for breakfast? Were they rich? Whoa! That would be exciting, wouldn't it? To see how rich people lived?

When I put Junie B. into this position, I was almost as excited as she was. Finally, I'd get to spend the night in a rich person's house! (Even if it was only in my imagination.)

Needless to say, I was pretty surprised the way everything turned out. Even more surprised than Junie B., who ended up teaching me one of life's great lessons: Rich is good . . . but blueberry pancakes are better.

Who knew?"

#12 Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy
There's going to be Pet Day at school, only Junie B. cannot take her dog because they aren't allowed. Now what? Her mother and father won't buy her a new one, so Junie B. has to find a special pet that she can bring to school.

Barbara Park says...

"We never had a Pet Day at my school, but since writing this book, I've tried to imagine what it would have been like. Not much fun for me, I don't think. I had a big grouch of a cat named Pudgy.

Picking Pudgy up was a bold move that only the bravest member of the family (my mother) would even attempt. On the nights Pudgy decided to sleep on my bed, I would carefully crawl under the covers and pray she'd let me sleep there, too.

Pudgy was pure cat, through and through . . . independent, proud, and aloof.

Pudgy is the reason I now have a dog."

Classroom Connections

Pre-Reading Activities

In Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal, Junie B. learns that spending the night at Lucille's giant house is not exactly what she had expected it to be. Ask your students if they've ever been very excited about something, and then been disappointed with the results. Discuss the various lessons that might have been learned from each disappointment. Was it really a disappointment after all?

Junie B. tries to find a pet that she is allowed to bring to school in Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy. She discovers that an earthworm, ants, and a fly do not make good pets. Ask your students what kinds of animals might make good pets. Why? Then ask what kinds of animals would make bad pets. Why? Then create a class list of Good Pets/Bad Pets.

Dress Up with Junie B.

When Lucille's nanna provides some old gowns for dress-up, Junie and her friends re-create Cinderella's ball with a few imaginative changes. Using old clothes or simple clothing articles created from paper, cardboard, or other handy materials, have student groups reenact scenes from selected fairy tales, embellished with creative character/plot additions and twists. Musical renditions are always welcome. Original tales may be read aloud before "modernized" performances to allow students to identify and discuss differences and express preferences.

Junie B.'s Animal Menagerie

As Junie B. struggles to find just the "right" pet for Pet Day, readers are acquainted with a large variety of animal life. Have students list all the animals mentioned in Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy. Then, using Internet or library resources to identify characteristics particular to mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects, classify each animal

Printable Activities

For use with #10 Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal
Junie B. Packs Her Bags

For use with #12 Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy
Junie B.'s Dictionary

Rosemary B. Stimola, Ph.D. teaches Children's Literature at City University of New York and serves as educational and editorial consultant to publishers of children's books.