Junie B. Jones And A Little Monkey Business (1993) - Plot & Excerpts
Summary:In this book, Junie B. Jones, a kindergartener, is getting a surprise from her mom and dad. When she hears "surprise" she thinks that must mean there is a wrapped present hiding somewhere in the house that she must go find. She searches all over, but is not finding anything. Then her parents inform her that there is not actually a present, but that the surprise is a new baby brother or sister! As exciting as the news may sound, Junie B. is not thrilled. From what she knows about babies is that they are P.U. She certainly doesn't want that in her house. Unfortunately, she has no choice because the baby is coming very soon. In fact, a few nights later her mom and dad go to the hospital and Junie B. is left with her Grandma and Grandpa Miller, who she refers to as Frank and Helen. That evening Grandma Miller goes to the hospital and leaves Junie B. with her grandpa. This means pie and just pie for dinner along with five waffles and endless syrup the next morning! Before leaving for school, Grandma Miller comes with great news. Junie B. Jones has a new little brother who is just the "cutest little monkey". She's told he has long fingers and toes and a head full of black hair. Junie B. is so excited! She loves monkeys! When she gets to school she tells her whole class during show and tell that her new baby brother is a monkey! Many kids don't believe her which gets her into a fight and sent to the principal’s office.After Junie B. and Principal talk it out a make a phone call to Grandma Miller, it is cleared up the her brother is certainly not a monkey. It was only a figure of speech. The class then goes on to make up examples like, busy bee, eats like a pig, and couch potato. After school that day, Junie B.'s mom and dad are waiting for her, and in her dad's arms is a little yellow bundle with a full head of black hair. He may not be a monkey, but Junie B. loves him!Response:I have always enjoyed the Junie B. Jones series of books. She has such a quirky personality that makes it fun to read. My favorite part of these books is just her style. Barbara Parks (the author) really captures the voice of curious little children. Working with small kids proves that kids say the funniest things without even trying. Reading about the silly life of Junie B. Jones reminds me of kids that I work with so it's always a joy to read them.I think that this book in particular sends a message of welcoming new experiences and overcoming challenges. Junie B. did not want a baby in the house. Not only do they smell, but they get all the new stuff while Junie B. is stuck with her old stuff. This event is common in the lives of many young children. I think that this book is a great way for children to find out that they are not the only one's going through that type of situation.Classroom Connection:The Junie B. Jones books seem to me, to be a good book to do as a class read aloud. It does not focus on a real subject that the kids can learn knowledge from, but it develops their literature and expands their thinking. I would read this book to my class if we were discussing family dynamics or there were a few children that were all expecting new siblings. I would also keep this book in my classroom library for children to borrow if they are in a similar situation. Also, an activity to go along with this would be for children to draw a picture of what it was like when they got a new sibling or what they would want their sibling to look like. Then they could write a description to go along with it.Text Complexity:This book has an interest level of grades 3-5, however I see that more as a range of when it can be read independently. I know that children in grades 1 and 2 would get a kick out of the humorous style of Junie B. Jones. The book has a grade equivalent of 2 and a lexile of 410.
A new sibling has recently been added to Junie B. Jones’ family. Junie is staying with her grandparents until her brother and her parents settle in. Junie hears her grandmother say that he is the cutest little monkey around. She takes what her grandmother says literally and thinks that her brother is an actual monkey. She uses this to her advantage and she has an auction in her classroom so that the highest bidder can see her monkey brother. She has received items from her “bestest” friends. So far she's got Lucille's locket, Grace's ring, Lucille's red sweater, Grace's high tops, and Lucille's red chair. She is very excited because she want to bring her brother in on “pet day.” Junie is really said when she realizes her brother is just a baby and not a monkey.Junie strikes me as a bit bratty in the story being that she wants to charge her friends to see her "monkey brother." I feel she must be jealous of the new baby because he is receiving all the attention from her family; she was even brought to her grandparents house. So throughout the story, Junie must be feeling unloved. Asking her friends for objects to see her monkey brother may be distracting her from the fact that she is no longer the center of attention! She is also a bit goofy looking and is reaching an awkward stage in her childhood, which may also be important. This story seems extremely relatable to children who are just beginning to read. A lot of kids, including myself, will have new siblings added to their family at around this age. Although most children are aware that any new baby in the house is most likely human, I thought this was a cute way to bring up topics that are pretty prevalent in the life of a young child.
What do You think about Junie B. Jones And A Little Monkey Business (1993)?
THis book is really good I recommend it to anyone that likes books with siblings and books by barbara park.Junie b. Jones and a little monkey business is interesting because Junie is bad and playful and rude too but she likes to have fun.it had a kinda boring beginning to me but I think most books have bad beginnings. My opinion is JUNIE B. JONES NEEDS A WHOOPING BECAUSE SHE IS BAD AND VERY RUDE AND TALKS BACK TO HER PARENTS IF THAT WAS MY DAUGHTER I WOULD WHOOP HER SHE IS LUCKY ITS JUST A BOOK BECAUSE I WOULD NOT LET HER TALK LIKE THAT AND SHE THINK SHE GOT A BOYFRIEND TOO GIRL YOU ARE IN KINDERGARTEN YOU NEEDA CHILL AND SHE ALWAYS GETTING IN ARGUMENTS.
—Hannah Cameron
Junie B. Jones and a little Monkey Business written by Barbara Parks, is part of the Junie B. Jones series. Junie B. Jones parents have a baby, and she becomes extremely jealous because she wants to be the center of attention. She also thinks she’s going to be the boss of the baby. Her Grandma refers to her new baby brother as a monkey, and Junie B. Jones tells all the kids at school that her brother is actually a monkey. She gets into a lot of trouble for doing this at the end of the story, and has to tell the truth. I could read this story to young elementary students such as first graders, since a lot of them probably have baby brothers and sisters. It can also be taught as a lesson to always tell the truth, since Junie B. gets in trouble for making stories up about her brother that were not true.
—Caelyn Pietila
This was the story about Junie B. Jones and how she was receiving a new baby brother. She didn't like the fact of having a new baby at first, but as time rolled on, she seemed more content with the fact she was going to be a big sister. When the day came for her mother to have the baby, Junie got to stay the night with her grandpa, and eat all the food she wanted to! She loves spending time with her grandpa because she got to eat pie for dinner. When her grandma came home and told them that her mother had the baby, she referred to the baby as the cutest little monkey she had ever seen, and Junie took this literally. Junie went to school telling everyone she had a real live baby monkey as a brother and even got called to the Principals office because of this. After she gets the meaning explained to her, she is a little upset that she doesn't have a real monkey for a brother, but when she sees her real brother, she refers to him as the cutest monkey she has ever seen. This book was very light hearted and kept me laughing from the beginning to the end. I would put this book in my classroom for older students to read, like fourth and fifth graders. I don't think anyone younger than that would understand. I don't think that I would use this as a read aloud book because of some of the things I would have to stop and explain to the children for them to understand it. But I think older students would enjoy reading this funny book, and maybe some could even relate to it because they might have felt the same way about their younger siblings, or maybe they have a sibling on the way and don't know what to expect. This would be a fun book to let the students read for fun, but I wouldn't make an assignment or do anything with it in the classroom.
—Megan Cureton
