Junie B Jones books - yay or nay?

[anamika]

Do you like these books? Is it just me that has a problem with them?
DD has started reading this series and I did not bother to check the books before giving it to her.
I am now wondering if the books are appropriate for a kindergartener -Junie seems to be a mean, loud-mouthed kid. Many of the words are said/spelled wrong and there was one book where there was mention of boyfriends etc. She's supposed to be in K/1st - should she be discussing boyfriends?
I, as an adult, like reading her because I think she is funny but I wonder what kind of influence this will be for DD.
We now use Junie as an example of bad behavior - so if DD's screaming, we try to ease the situation by asking her if she's trying to be like Junie.
So just wondering what your thoughts are on this series? Maybe I'm overreacting.
Either way, I have told DD she can't read them anymore but I was curious about what others think.

[JoyNChrist]

I remember liking them as a child, but I haven't encountered them again as an adult.

Doesn't Junie's yelling/rudeness generally get her in trouble? Or am I remembering them wrong?

[lilycat88]

DD reads them. My favorite, no. But, she's interested enough to read them to us as a 1st grader so I'm ok with it. She just made a comment to me last night as she read that Junie did/said things that weren't good. If she started acting like Junie or thinking she could pull some of that stuff, they would be out the window.

DD actually prefers Magic Treehouse.

[khm]

I used to dislike them when she was younger. A lot. But, when my daughter got to K thru 2nd grade... I began to appreciate them.

I volunteer at school, and man, the kids just "get" Junie. None of them are remotely like her, nor do they emulate her, but they "get" her and think she's funny. I think they think about things the way Junie does, even if they don't choose to ACT on things like Junie, it's about the thought process.

When the kids read the books to me, they clearly know the words aren't always correct, they stress them in a funny way when they read them. They kind of poo poo it and often tell me how she should have said it. I also have grown to adore the kids who can't help but basically act out the facial expressions when Junie describes things.

[JBaxter]

Nathan really likes them. He reads them often. I know his K teacher read them to the class.

If it makes him WANT to read Im all for them

[StantonHyde]

I love them--they are truly hilarious. We have them all on audio and they have saved many a car ride. Junie B is the anti hero--kids know when she is doing something that isn't right. And she always gets corrected in the end.

I so find myself self-correcting the grammar when I read them and DD will say "that's not how she talks mommy!".

[crayonblue]

I do NOT like them. Disrespectful kid with a bad attitude! We do not need any added incentive to behave in that manner around here. I don't let DD read them. There are thousands of good books out there.

[AnnieW625]

DH does not like them because of the attitude of Junie (we only have one we got as a hand me down), but once DD1 is reading on her own then I don't think I would tell her she couldn't read them.

[okinawama]

When I taught kindergarten I used them as a read aloud to the kids, but would go through the chapter prior to reading it and edit out all of the times she used the word "stupid" ( which is used in the books a ton!) and replace it with silly.

i do agree that they're not my favorite, but for some reason the kids are really drawn to them. I always allowed the students to vote on our next read aloud, and most of the times Junie B was their choice.

[Rainbows&Roses]

No way. DD got one for a gift from an annoying relative and started to read it and didn't like it one bit.

IMO, even though kids may know the things that go on/are said in the book are wrong, as with annoying habits/words/mannerisms of their friends, they often pick those things up regardless.