| Italic Title: | (see above) --> |
| Author: | Barbara Park |
| Illustrator: | Denise Brunkus |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Children's literature, comedy, realistic fiction |
| Publisher: | Random House |
| Pub Date: | 1992 |
| Number Of Books: | 31 |
Junie B. Jones is a children's book series written by Barbara Park and illustrated by Denise Brunkus. Published by Random House from 1992 to 2013, the story centers on "almost six-year-old" Junie B. Jones and her adventures in kindergarten and first grade.[1]
Since the original book was published by Random House in 1992, a total of 31 Junie B. Jones books have been published. 28 are stories that take place in the Junie B. Jones series, and three are activity books entitled Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide, Top-Secret Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (and me!), and Junie B.'s These Puzzles Hurt My Brain! Book. Several box sets, multiple book bind-ups, and a Valentine's Day card collection have also been released. The series has been translated into Spanish, Italian and French.
The Junie B. Jones series came in at #71 on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000 to 2009.[2] Reasons cited are "poor social values taught by the books, and Junie B. Jones not being considered a good role model due to her mouthiness, bad spelling, and grammar."[3]
While Barbara Park appreciated being on banned lists with writers she respected (including Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison), she stopped reading information about her books because the comments were "too hurtful."[4] She once wrote "Some people believe that the value of a children's book can be measured only in terms of the moral lessons it tries to impose or the perfect role models it offers. Personally, I happen to think that a book is of extraordinary value if it gives the reader nothing more than a smile or two. In fact, I happen to think that's huge."[5]
When asked about the topic of a feature-length film adaptation based on the books, Barbara Park stated in an interview that "Junie B. has been pretty successful already living in the readers' imaginations, so I am happy with that."[9]
On June 14, 2022, it was announced that Nickelodeon is developing an adaptation of the books.[10]