Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook (Junie B. Jones #9)

Gr 2-3--Junie's kindergarten classmates convince her that an invisible monster lives under her bed. Her parents and grandmother are unable to convince her otherwise until Junie hits upon the idea of putting her unflattering school picture under the bed to frighten the monster. In Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook, the little girl discovers that "finders keepers losers weepers" is not an appealing philosophy when she loses the special gloves her grandfather gave her and the child who finds them doesn't take them to the lost and found. Junie's first-person narration is sprinkled with deliberate grammatical errors and misunderstood word usage in an attempt to show a five-year-old's viewpoint ("I runned home," "They got stoled on purpose."). Precocious use of sophisticated language is also used to achieve an intended humorous effect. The black-and-white, full- and half-page illustrations reflect Junie's cockeyed view of the world and will help attract beginning chapter-book readers. The issues the child is dealing with are right on target for the intended age group, but Junie's personality is more annoying than endearing and the humor lacks freshness and spontaneity. Buy where the series is popular.--Lisa Smith, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NY

From USA TODAY:
"Junie B. is the darling of the young-reader set."

From Publisher' Weekly
"Park convinces beginning readers that Junie B.—and reading—are lots of fun."

From Kirkus Reviews
"Junie's swarms of young fans will continue to delight in her unique take on the world....A hilarious, first-rate read- aloud."

From Booklist
"Park, one of the funniest writers around . . . brings her refreshing humor to the beginning chapter-book set."

From Time magazine:
"Junie B. Jones is a feisty six-year-old with an endearing penchant for honesty."

From School Library Journal
"Park is truly a funny writer. Although Junie B. is a kindergartner, she's sure to make middle graders laugh out loud."