Columbus Day Book Review: Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked
Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked (Junie B. Jones, #23) by Barbara Park
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: 2004
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
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?
As a parent, I don’t especially like Junie B. Jones. She’s obnoxious, has poor grammar, and uses words like stupid – a bad word in our house. These are all the same reasons my first grader loves her! He’s a bit of a reluctant reader so if Junie B. gets him excited about reading, then I’m willing to tolerate her.
Shipwrecked sneaks in quite a few facts about Christopher Columbus and his voyage to America. Children won’t have any idea that they are actually learning because the story is entertaining and funny. Since this book is for first graders, it doesn’t go into the ethical issues associated with Columbus’s journey, like imperialism and genocide. It actually doesn’t say anything about what happened after Columbus landed – the focus is entirely on the voyage.
If your child is a Junie B. Jones fan, he or she will definitely enjoy this book.
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