Junie B. Jones Is a Beauty Shop Guy
Author: Barbara Park
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 1998
Pages: 67
Reading Level: 2
Genre: Children’s Chapter Book
Rating: ****

Summary:
Junie B. Jones. If you don’t already know her this book gives you a glimpse into all her fun quirks and witty personality. In this story of Junie B. is into two things, becoming a beauty shop guy and changing her name. The book starts off with her deciding that she is going to be called Pinkie Gladys Gutzman, name tag and all. After announcing the news to her family, she is informed that she going to being going to the barber shop with her dad, only it isn’t a barber shop he goes to, but a beauty shop. Once she is there they meet Maxine the beautician, and Maxine lets Junie B. be her helper. She holds the towel, but then she has to sneeze, and it goes right in that fluffy towel. Then she gets the job of sweeper, and she sweeps right over a customer’s fit and looses that job as well. Leaving the shop, she decides she is going to be a beauty shop girl. After several reminders from her parents that it takes, years and years to be one she set to work. She starts off with her bunny slippers. Sadly though, those bunnies moved too much and their trim did not look good so she hides them under her bed. Her next attempt, shampooing. After several dunks in the bathroom sink, her teddy head will no longer stay up and she hides him under her bed as well, and that is when her dog comes in. this is when she has another light bulb moment and she grabs her shiny scissors and she sets to work. Sadly, that hair cut didn’t go well either. Luckily though, dog hair unlike bunny slipper hair grows back. But AHHHEA she thinks of yet another thing, dog hair is different than human hair, so she goes about cutting her own. Her first cut goes well, but by the end she looks in the mirror and her bangs are all slanted, and she can’t seem to get them even. And when she is done her hair is everywhere. How can she go to school like this? Once more an ingenious idea comes to her, she will wear her devil horn at, and below that a shower cap in case anyone steals her hat, and under that her ski mask, just in case. At school though, the kids laugh and Mrs. her teacher takes her into the hall and gets down to why Junie B. is wearing all her hats. She then tells her to wear only the devil horn one and she tells all the students to leave Junie B.’s had alone. At the end of the school day, instead of boarding the bus, in walks her father. He takes Junie B. and once more they go and see Maxine. She quickly fixes her hair, and Junie B. loves her new hair. She then realizes if it wasn’t for her cutting her own hair, this new haircut wouldn’t have happened, so all her hopes and dreams of being a beauty shop guy aren’t crushed after all, and she reaches into her drawer and pulls out an extra pair of scissors.

Who would benefit from reading this?
This is a fun book for all kids. Everyone has a little Junie B. deep down. It is also a great read aloud, ther are lots of exciting parts to leave the readers hanging.

Potential problems/conflicts:
A potential problem is that Junie B. is rather feisty and she could give kids the wrong kind of motivation at times. Another problem I see is that she gets into a lot of trouble, but she is never in very much trouble which could encourage kids to test the limit.

My reaction:
I loved Junie B. Jones as a girl, and I still find her hilarious. She always has a unique way of looking at things and never fails to surprise. Along with this, she makes lots of mistakes but it never holds her back and with each lesson she learns we learn one as well. She is your typical curious girl, with a big personality and witty humor to boot. I love Junie B. Jones and could read her books all day and never stop laughing.