One Job Done

Okay, I finished the young readers' series book I mentioned yesterday, which just happened to be the twenty-fourth in the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. As fiction for the early grades goes, Junie B. Jones has to be close to the gold standard. At least for adult readers. It's far more engaging for us, deeper, smarter. Boo...And I Mean It!, the most recent Junie B. book, deals with Junie B.'s fear of Halloween and her attempts to deal with it. It's a neat idea. Kids who aren't afraid of Halloween ought to be intrigued by a child who is. And kids who are afraid of Halloween ought to be happy to find a kindred spirit. And it's great that Junie B. made a plan to deal with her fear. But, then, I'm very goal oriented and like to see it in fictional characters.

My only complaint about Junie B. (and I've said this before somewhere in this blog) is that I find her just a little too wise. Though she is definitely funny, the humor to me seems adult. I don't think she talks like a true funny first grader, she talks like an adult's idea of a funny first grader. She's a little over the top.

Nonetheless, she's so much better than almost anyone else out there. Except for maybe Marvin Redpost who might be for a slightly older reader.