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Junie B. Jones #12: Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy

Part of Junie B. Jones

Author Barbara Park

Illustrated by Denise Brunkus

Paperback

$6.99 US

RH Childrens Books | Random House Books for Young Readers

5.13"W x 7.63"H x 0.2"D | 2 oz | 48 per carton

On sale Nov 17, 1998 | 80 Pages | 9780679891307

Age 6-9 years

Reading Level: Lexile 330L | Fountas & Pinnell M

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“Hilarious. Barbara Park makes reading fun.” —Dav Pilkey, author of Dog Man

Barbara Park’s #1 New York Times bestselling chapter book series, Junie B. Jones, has been keeping kids laughing—and reading—for more than twenty-five years. Over 65 million copies sold!

Meet the World’s Funniest Kindergartner—Junie B. Jones! There’s going to be a pet day at school, only guess what? No dogs allowed! And that’s the only kind of pet Junie B. has! If Mother and Daddy won’t buy her a new pet, Junie B. will just have to find one on her own. Like maybe a jar of ants. Or a wiggly worm. Or—could it be—something even better?

USA Today:
“Junie B. is the darling of the young-reader set.”

Publishers Weekly:
“Park convinces beginning readers that Junie B.—and reading—are lots of fun.”

Kirkus Reviews:
“Junie’s swarms of young fans will continue to delight in her unique take on the world. . . . A hilarious, first-rate read-aloud.”

Time:
“Junie B. Jones is a feisty six-year-old with an endearing penchant for honesty.”

Barbara Park was best-known as the creator and author of the New York Times bestselling Junie B. Jones series, the stories of an outrageously funny kindergartener that have kept kids (and their grownups) laughing—and reading—for over two decades. The series was consistently a #1 New York Times bestseller, spending over 180 weeks on the list, and Barbara and her books were profiled in such national outlets as Time, Newsweek, USA Today, the New York Times, and Today. Barbara Park arrived at the writing profession through an indirect route. Before becoming a bestselling and beloved children’s author, she originally intended to teach high school history and political science. She got her secondary education degree but quickly realized that her calling was to be a writer. After several rejections, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers acquired her first manuscript, Operation: Dump the Chump and two others. Don’t Make Me Smile was published first in 1981, followed by Operation: Dump the Chump (1982) and Skinnybones (1982). She went on to write over 50 books, from the picture book Ma! There’s Nothing to Do Here!, a love letter to her grandson, to middle grade novels such as Skinnybones, The Kid in the Red Jacket, Mick Harte Was Here, and The Graduation of Jake Moon. Barbara won more than 40 children’s book awards, including several Children’s Choice Awards. Barbara Park was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, on April 21, 1947, and spent most of her adult life in Arizona. There she, with her husband, Richard, raised her two sons and spent time with her two young grandsons. Park died on November 15, 2013 after fighting ovarian cancer heroically for seven and a half years. View titles by Barbara Park

Denise Brunkus is a children’s book illustrator. She has illustrated more than 60 books, including the wildly popular Junie B. Jones series and Read All About It! by Laura and Jenna Bush. View titles by Denise Brunkus

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Chapter 4: Ooey Gooey

"EEEW! YUCK! IT'S A WORM! IT'S A WORM! GET IT OFF ME, GRANDMA! GET IT OFF RIGHT NOW!" I yelled.

Grandma Miller quick took back the worm.

"For heaven's sake, Junie B. What in the world is the matter with you? It's just a baby earthworm. Look how teeny he is. This little fellow would make a wonderful pet."

I did a huffy breath at her.

"Yeah, only worms cannot be pets, Grandma. 'Cause pets have fur so you can pet them. And worms just have ooey gooey skin."

Grandma Miller looked surprised at me.

"Don't be silly," she said. "Not all pets have fur. My bird Twitter doesn't have fur, and he's a pet. And goldfish don't have fur. And hermit crabs don't have fur. And lizards don't have fur. And-"

I covered my ears with my hands.

"Okay, okay. Enough with the fur," I said. "But worms don't have eyes or ears, either. And they don't have legs or tails or feet or necks. And they don't chirp or bark or cluck or meow. And so what kind of stupid pet do you call that?"

Grandma Miller thought and thought.

Then she smiled real big.

"I'd call that the kind of pet that won't wake up the neighbors or sniff the company or scratch himself silly," she said back.

After that, she stood up. And she gave the baby earthworm to Mother.

"I'll leave this little guy with your mother for now," she said. "You can think it over and see if you want to keep him. I'll check back with you later."

Then she kissed me on my head.

And she grabbed the ice chest.

And she hurried out the door.

Mother looked at the baby worm in her hand. "My goodness. You are a little one, aren't you?" she said.

She got an empty mayonnaise jar out of the cabinet.

Then she poked holes in the lid for air. And she put the baby worm inside of it.

Mother looked at him in there.

"You don't even know where you are, do you, little fella?" she said. "I bet it's kind of scary in there all by yourself."

I turned my back on her. 'Cause I knew what she was up to, that's why.

"You can't make me like him, Mother," I said. "Nobody can make me like him."

"Of course not," said Mother. "But just because you don't like him, doesn't mean I can't like him."

She talked to the worm some more.

"Hmm. Maybe you'd be happier if you had some dirt to crawl around in," she said. "Let's go outside and see what we can do."

After that, Mother put on her jacket. And she went outside. And she digged in the dirt from her garden.

She came inside and showed me the jar.

It looked kind of cute in there.

There was a rock and a stick and a dandelion and some clovers.

I peeked at the baby worm.

He peeked back, I think.

"Yeah, only I still don't like him," I said kind of softer.

I rocked back and forth on my feet.

"And anyway... even if I did like him, I don't know what worms eat. And so what would I even feed that guy?"

Mother ruffled my hair.

"Are you kidding? That's the best part about worms," she said. "They get all of their food right from the soil. You don't have to feed them anything at all."

Just then, my baby brother started to cry.

"Uh-oh. The baby's crying," she said. "Here. Take this."

Then she quick handed me the jar.

And she runned right out of the room.

From USA TODAY:
"Junie B. is the darling of the young-reader set."

From Publisher' Weekly:
"Park convinces beginning readers that Junie B.—and reading—are lots of fun."

From Kirkus Reviews:
"Junie's swarms of young fans will continue to delight in her unique take on the world....A hilarious, first-rate read- aloud."

From Booklist:
"Park, one of the funniest writers around . . . brings her refreshing humor to the beginning chapter-book set."

From Time magazine:
"Junie B. Jones is a feisty six-year-old with an endearing penchant for honesty."

From School Library Journal:
"Park is truly a funny writer. Although Junie B. is a kindergartner, she's sure to make middle graders laugh out loud."

Educator Guide for Junie B. Jones #12: Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

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