Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School

Junie B. Jones is back and better than ever with a must-have Survival Guide!

Hello, school children! Hello! Hello! It’s me . . . Junie B., First Grader!

I have been going to school for over one-and-a-half entire years now. And I have learned a jillion things that will help you survive at that place. And guess what? Now I am going to pass this information on to y-o-u!!! I wrote it all down in my brand-new book!

Here is some of the stuff I wrote about:
Bus rules, carpools, how to stay out of trouble (possibly), homework, fun work, water fountains, friends (plus children you may not actually care for).

All the helpful hints and drawings are done by me, Junie B. Jones! Plus also, there are stickers and pages for you to write in! This thing is a hoot, I tell you!

Children's Literature

Perennial first-grader Junie B. Jones is back, full of all the wisdom she has gained in surviving school for one and a half years. This time, she shares hints to make the school year a rousing success for her readers. Cleverly formatted as a ring-bound, composition-style black-and-white notebook, Park's Junie divides her wisdom into five sections. Written with Ms. Park's trademark humor, this book addresses the heft of a backpack, cautioning that the heaviest load is a bad note from a teacher. Rules of the bus are edged out by Junie's musings on the fantasy idea of a car pool, where children actually splash around in delight. Suggestions to stay out of trouble and what to do if one gets into trouble may not keep a child saintly, but the admonition that "[t]eachers are tattletales" may help. "Delightful" is a good word to describe this guide. Included in this 120-page, ring-bound book are stickers and button covers as well as a generous supply of blank pages for the reader to jot down her thoughts. Simple illustrations are mostly of the stick-and-ball variety. Although aimed at the beginning reader, many older primary children will certainly enjoy reading and writing in this book. Reviewer: Jacquie Skurla

The prolific creator of the Junie B. Jones series, Barbara Park says she wasn't particularly imaginative when she was young. No matter. Park and Junie B. are making up for lost time. In our interview, Park discussed her favorite books and writers, what she's working on next -- and told us a little bit about the antics of her puppy.