Avery, Me and Junie B.

This is a tale of two stories.  There is the comical side and there is the warm and fuzzy side.  I will start with the comical side.  

Once upon a year when the grandchildren were a lot younger, they often wanted me to read to them.  Bella brought me a book entitled June B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus.  I have discovered since that this series of books written by Barbara Park all start out with the same paragraph.  It goes like this:

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.  

I was no more than two paragraphs into reading the first book and I was laughing.  Every other paragraph made me giggle and laugh.  I had to stop and catch my breath to continue reading.  The granddaughters then started laughing at my laughing.  

Junie has a friend named Lucille and one named Grace and she is a kindergartener in the first books.  She calls her teacher Mrs. and her first person point of view, how she acts and what comes out of her mouth is unbelievably joyous writing. Junie is irreverent, speaks her mind and is a constant source of frustration to the adults around her.  I love her spunk!

In Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth, the book I laughed through next with the grand kids, Junie says after she introduces herself:

I go to kindergarten.  My room is named Room Nine.  There are lots of rules in that place.

Like no shouting

And no running in the hall.

And no butting the other children in the stomach with your head.  

My teacher’s name is Mrs.  

She has another name too, but I just like Mrs.

The following are excerpts from a book Avery just read to me entitled Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying.

kindergarten  -  Kindergarten is what comes before first grade.  Except for I don’t know why it’s named that dumb word of kindergarten. ‘Cause it should be named zero grade, I think.

work  -  Work is when you use your brain and a pencil.  Only sometimes I accidentally use the eraser too hard.  And a hole comes in my paper.

the grocery store - Saturday is the day me and my mother go to the grocery store.  It is very fun at that place.  Except for no hollering I WANT ICE CREAM!  And no calling Mother the name of big meanie.  

spying - I am a very good spier.  That’s because I have sneaky feet.  And my nose doesn’t whistle when I breathe.

the water fountain - No putting your mouth on the water spout.  Or else germs will get inside you.  And you will die.

secrets - Nobody can see secrets inside your head.  Not even if they look in your ears.  

In November I found two Junie B. books at the library book sale and brought them home.  I knew all our grandchildren were too old for them, but here is where the warm and fuzzy part of my tale comes in.  I asked Avery who is in fourth grade if she wanted the books.  She said they were second grade reading level and she was reading at a 6th grade level.  

I told her I knew she was beyond those books, but they were so funny and always made me laugh.  She looked at me and said, “Do you want me to read to you?  I could use the practice of reading out loud because sometimes I don’t do it very well at school.”  

I globbed onto the chance to hear her read and so we covered up with a fuzzy blanket and she began.  I could not help laugh at the amusing language and when I did that, Avery would look at me and smile and read the part again for emphasis.  She would often stop to look at the illustrations in the book and say, “Oh, oh trouble ahead.”  I knew she was enjoying the story as much as I was.  

We have finished two books since before Christmas and Avery got a big box full from her mother’s classroom to keep us reading into next year.  I just learned that Barbara Parks, the author of the wonderful series, died in 2013 of ovarian cancer.  It breaks my heart that she will not be writing anymore Junie B. books. I hope she knew how much her books are loved.  

Avery turns ten today (January 12) and she may lose interest in entertaining her grandmother, but the warm memories will last. What could be better than Avery, me and Junie B.?