Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
(Junie B. Jones #1)

One of the initial titles released under the First Stepping Stone imprint, chapter books aimed at newly independent readers and arranged in series, Park's ( Skinnybones ) jolly caper is the first installment to feature Junie B., a feisty almost-six-year-old who is not at all happy about riding the bus on the first day of kindergarten. In fact, she doesn't like a single thing about this vehicle: not the kids who get on it ("Loud kids. And some of them were the kind who look like meanies"); not the door ("If it closes on you by accident, it will cut you in half, and you will make a squishy sound"); and not the black smoke it emits ("It's called bus breath, I think"). Other equally candid, on-target perceptions fill Junie B.'s first-person narrative, which is peppered with reader-involving questions ("Only guess what?"; " 'Cause guess why?") that help to propel the story at a whiz-bang pace. When a classmate tells Junie B. that kids will pour chocolate milk on her head on the way home, the spunky child finds a way to avoid the dreaded bus. Park convinces beginning readers that Junie B.-- and reading--are lots of fun. Ages 6-9. (Aug.)

K-Gr 3 --Park is truly a funny writer. Although Junie B. is a kindergartner, she's sure to make middle graders laugh out loud when they read about her adventures on the first day of school. Even the most insecure readers will feel superior because they know so much more than she does. Brunkus's occasional black-and-white pencil illustrations are appealing and reinforce the mood of the text. Junie B. is a real character; she talks a lot, is funny without knowing it, and honest to a fault. This book will get lots of peer recommendations, and younger kids will enjoy listening to it when read aloud. It's a real hoot! --Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Pub . Lib ., ID