Junie B. Jones smells something fishy

Barbara Park

Book - 1998

Frustrated because the rules for her class's Pet Day will not let her take her dog to school, Junie B. Jones considers taking a raccoon, a worm, a dead fish, and other unusual replacements. Number 12 in the series.

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Subjects
Published
New York : Random House c1998.
Language
English
Main Author
Barbara Park (-)
Other Authors
Denise Brunkus (illustrator)
Physical Description
66 p. : ill. ; 19 cm
ISBN
9780679991304
9780439136853
9780679891307
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Gr. 2-4. Ecstatic when her kindergarten teacher announces Pet Day, Junie plunges into despair when she learns that big animals such as Junie's dog will not be allowed in school, only their pictures. In her search for a new pet, Junie turns down the loan of her grandmother's parrot, finds her mother uncooperative when she chooses a freshly caught (but definitely dead) fish, and decides on an earthworm, which unfortunately escapes. As a last ditch solution, Junie takes a fish stick to class; and beams with pride when it wins the ribbon for "Most Well-Behaved Pet." Readers who are getting into chapter books will find plenty to enjoy here, from Junie's antics to her fresh use of language to the expressive line drawings. A funny entry in a popular series. (Reviewed March 15, 1999)0679891307Carolyn Phelan

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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 the Trade Paperback edition. Excerpted from Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy by Barbara Park All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.