Everybody's favorite sass-mouth first grader comes back for her 23rd installment in this popular series . This time around, Junie B. fends off a stomach virus and earns a starring role in the Parent's Night play. The action starts with a bang--or rather, a "SPLAT-O!"--as one of Junie B's classmates falls victim to a stomach virus right there in class: "It was the disgustingest thing I ever saw. Also, the odor was not delightful." But only after everyone improvises their own virus defenses ("We held our noses tight with our fingers. And we didn't breathe for the whole rest of the morning") does the real excitement in Room One begin. Poor, put-upon Mr. Scary has planned a special event for Parent's Night--a play about Christopher Columbus. Junie B. lands a plum role ("I want to be the Pinta! Cause the Pinta was the fastest ship! And the fastest ship is the winner ship. And the winner ship is the star!"), but as with all Junie endeavors, expect a bumpy voyage.

The usual classroom crew is back, including Lennie, Herbert, and Jose, and Junie doesn't disappoint with her unintentionally hilarious asides ("Attendance is the school word for who isn't here") and trademark wisdom ("Glitter can turn your whole day around"). (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3–In another zany appearance, feisty Junie B. wins a starring role as the Pinta, the "fastest" of Columbus's ships, in a play to be presented on Parents' Night. Amid typical kid-type disasters (a flu virus, arguments over staging, a frazzled teacher), the students in Room One have a dramatic–and surprising–opening night. Like the other beginning chapter books in this series, Junie B. tells her story in simple, realistic language, including grammatical and spelling errors. Illustrations add humorous details. The interactions of the characters are consistently interesting, and the plot moves quickly. Readers will relate instantly to the trials and tribulations of this first grader, and her approach to conflict resolution and her unrefined social skills make good springboards for classroom discussion. This protagonist often offers examples of how not to handle a situation, but she is always endearing and wonderfully funny.–Corrina Austin, Locke's Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“Junie B. is sassy, hilarious, and insightful. . . . Park understands the passions and fears of first-graders.”–Booklist


From the Trade Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap
Ship Ahoy!

Room One is putting on a play. And guess what? It’s about explorers looking for the New World! And there’s ships and sea captains and everything! Plus here’s the bestest news of all—Junie B. Jones thinks she might be the star of the whole entire production! Only, sailing the ocean blue is not as easy as it looks, apparently. ’Cause problems keep on happening. Like the actors keep catching the flu. And bossy May keeps trying to take over the show.

Can this play be saved? Will the ships ever get to land? Or is Room One in for a disaster at sea that they will never forget?

About the Author
Barbara Park is beloved by millions as the author of the wildly popular Junie B. Jones series. Her Junie B. Jones books are consistently on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her middle-grade novels, which include Skinnybones, The Kid in the Red Jacket, My Mother Got Married (and Other Disasters), and Mick Harte Was Here, have won over 40 children's book awards. Ms. Park holds a B.S. in education from the University of Alabama. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband, Richard, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones brings down the show in this laugh-out-loud 23rd installment of the popular series. Again accompanied by Denise Brunkus's jovial black-and-white artwork, Park has the frolicsome first-grader gearing up for a class play about Christopher Columbus. After coming up with the most research facts about the legendary explorer, Junie and José are allowed to choose which role they'd like for the show. While José takes the part of Columbus, Junie opts to portray the Pinta because it was Columbus's fastest ship. To her chagrin, however, classmate May chooses to be the Santa María -- Columbus's flagship -- and begins touting her own importance. Of course, sure-minded Junie doesn't like being shown up, and when the big night rolls around, the two turn the class play into a silly shipwreck! Park again keeps kids giggling over Junie's witty comments and knee-slapping situations, adding simple lessons about the explorer and also about the way germs are spread. Sure to again sail to the top of the bestseller charts, this Junie B., First Grader book won't be passed up by Park's loyal fans. Matt Warner

ANNOTATION

Junie B.'s journal entries start with Room One's stomach virus excitement, the first-grade Columbus Day play, and getting the part of the Pinta, the fastest ship.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Ship Ahoy!

Room One is putting on a play. And guess what? It's about explorers looking for the New World! And there's ships and sea captains and everything! Plus here's the bestest news of all - Junie B. Jones thinks she might be the star of the whole entire production! Only, sailing the ocean blue is not as easy as it looks, apparently. 'Cause problems keep on happening. Like the actors keep catching the flu. And bossy May keeps trying to take over the show.

Can this play be saved? Will the ships ever get to land? Or is Room One in for a disaster at sea that they will never forget?

Barbara Park is beloved by millions as the author of the wildly popular Junie B. Jones series. Her Junie B. Jones books are consistently on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her middle-grade novels, which include Skinnybones, The Kid in the Red Jacket, My Mother Got Married (and Other Disasters), and Mick Harte Was Here, have won over 40 children's book awards. Ms. Park holds a B.S. in education from the University of Alabama. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband, Richard, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Next installments detail the ongoing exploits of familiar characters. In Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked by Barbara Park, illus. by Denise Brunkus, the kids of Room One prepare a Columbus Day play. But with a virus spreading through the class and a feud between Junie and May (playing the Pinta and the Santa Maria of Columbus's fleet, respectively), will the play stay afloat? Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Moira Rose Donohue

Wowie, wow, wow! Those who love Junie B. will not be disappointed in this hilarious sojourn into the world of the school play. Junie B.'s first grade class watches fearfully as Roger throws up all over the floor. Afraid of Roger's germs, Junie B. and her classmates cover their heads with paper bags, hold their noses and wrap their hands in plastic baggies to avoid catching the stomach virus because they are doing a play for Parents' Night. Even though a few students fall prey to the virus and are absent, the class manages to learn about Christopher Columbus and to make costumes for the play. But on the night of the big performance, disaster strikes not once, when Junie B. as the Pinta, and May as the Santa Maria race each other and crash, but twice, when Roger, recovering from a cold, falls on Sheldon and sneezes right up his nose! Jose, as Christopher Columbus, saves the day by swimming to the new world. 2004, A Stepping Stone Book/Random House, Ages 7 to 12.

School Library Journal