Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

Park, Barbara (1992). Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. New York, New York: Random House.
Junie B. is a kindergartner with a mind of her own. In this Junie B. book Junie is going to be starting school. She meets her new teacher and things are going pretty well until she learns that she needs to ride the bus to and from school. She is nervous on the bus and does not like it or some of the children that ride it. A little girl in her class tells Junie B. that on the bus ride home other kids are going to dump chocolate milk on her head. Junie B. decides that she is not going to ride the bus home, so she hides in the supply closet in her classroom and misses the bus. After being left behind Junie B. sets out to explore the school and has a lot of fun adventures. When she has an emergency of the potty kind, she calls 911 with her emergency and is rescued. Her mother arranges for her to ride the bus with a friend, so Junie B. decides that it might not be too terrible to ride the bus.
On obvious literary element of this book is character. Junie B. says and does things that only she would do. Despite the fact she is a little over the top, kids of all ages love her and can relate to her situations. The first person point of view works well in this series as the true character and language of Junie B. can be use.