Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake (Junie B. Jones Series #5)

by Barbara Park, Mark Podwal

Overview

Junie B. is having a run of bad luck, losing every game at the school carnival. When she finally wins the Cake Walk on her last ticket, she chooses a fruitcake as her prize. But who in the heck knew that sparkly foil-wrapped fruitcake was really a lethal weapon in disguise? "The innocent first-person narrative will make lower-school readers laugh out loud at her mispronunciations as they recognize their own confusion and failure."--Booklist

Author Biography: Barbara Park is one of today's funniest, most popular writers for middle grade readers. Her novels, which include Skinnybones, Mick Harte was Here, Maxie, Rosie, and Earl-Partners in Grime, Rosie Swanson: Fourth-Grade Geek for President, and The Graduation of Jake Moon have won just about every award given by children. She is also the author of the hilarious and bestselling Junie B. Jones chapter books. Recent books about Junie include Junie B., First Grader (at last!) and Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch.

Ms. Park earned a B.S. degree in education at the University of Alabama. She lives in Arizona with her husband and has two grown sons.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679866947
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/19/1995
Series:	Junie B. Jones Series
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	31,460
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.63(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

BARBARA PARK is best known as the author of the wildly popular New York Times bestselling Junie B. Jones series, which has kept kids (and their grown-ups) laughing—and reading—for over two decades. Beloved by millions, the Junie B. Jones books have been translated into multiple languages and are a time-honored staple in elementary school classrooms around the world. Barbara once said, “I’ve never been sure whether Junie B.’s fans love her in spite of her imperfections…or because of them. But either way, she’s gone out into the world and made more friends than I ever dreamed possible.”

Barbara Park is also the author of award-winning middle grade novels and bestselling picture books, including Skinnybones, Mick Harte Was Here, and Ma! There’s Nothing to Do Here!

Barbara Park was born in New Jersey in 1947 and spent most of her adult life in Arizona, where she and her husband, Richard, raised two sons. Barbara died in 2013, but her legacy lives on in the laughter her books give to readers all over the world.

Hometown:

Scottsdale, Arizona

Date of Birth:

April 21, 1947

Place of Birth:

Mt. Holly, New Jersey

Education:

B.S., University of Alabama, 1969

Website:

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 4: Very Practicing

After school, I runned all the way home from my bus stop. That's because Grandma Miller baby-sits me in the afternoon. And I wanted to tell her all about Carnival Night!

"HEY GRANDMA MILLER! IT'S ME! IT'S JUNIE B. JONES! YOUR GRANDGIRL! I'VE GOT SOME IMPORTANT NEWS FOR YOU! THERE'S GONNA BE A CARNIVAL AT MY SCHOOL! AND I CAN WIN A HUNDRED PRIZES AT THAT THING!"

Grandma Miller hurried out of baby Ollie's room. She looked grumpity at me.

"Shh! Junie B! Not so loud! I just put the baby down for his nap!"

My shoulders got very slumping.

"Yeah, only I'm excited down here, Helen," I said.

Then Grandma smiled a little bit.

And she hugged me hello.

And she said not to call her Helen.

"Yeah, only I didn't even tell you the bestest part yet!" I said. "'Cause Mrs. read me the kind of games they're going to play. And so now I can practice them at home. And I will be the bestest game winner of anyone!"

I hurried to the laundry room to get the clothespins.

"They're gonna have a game where you drop clothespins in a bottle!" I hollered to Grandma. "Except for I can't find a bottle in this whole big laundry room. So I'm just gonna drop my clothespins in a bucket. 'Cause that will give me the feel of it, I think!"

I got the bucket away from the mop. Then I dropped all of my clothespins right in that thing.

"Hey, Grandma! I did it! I did it! I dropped every single clothespin in this big bucket. And I didn't even miss one of them! I am a breeze at this game!"

I ran back to her. "Now I need some pennies to practice the Penny Toss," I said.

And so Grandma Miller gave me all her pennies. And I ran back and threw those guys in the bucket, too!

And here's another fun thing! When Mother came home from work, she showed me how to putt with a real actual golf club!

Only no golf balls in the house. So I just putted a grapefruit. And also a dinner roll.

And guess what? That night at dinner I didn't even growl about sitting on the telephone book. 'Cause everything was going my way, that's why!

After we ate, Mother and Daddy cleaned up the dishes together.

They weren't even paying attention to me.

That's how come I sneaked into the bathroom to practice another game.

Its name is Throwing Sponges at Principal!

First, I got the sponge from under the sink.

Then I made it soaky wet with water.

"Ready...

"Aim...

"Fire!" I said.

Then I throwed the sponge with all my might.

It splashed right in the middle of the toilet pot!

"BULL'S-EYE! I MADE A BULL'S-EYE!" I hollered real excited.

Only just then, I heard a knock at the door.

"Junie B.? What are you doing in there? Open the door."

Oh no!

It was Mother!

I was in big trouble, I think.

My heart got very pumping. On account of I'm not actually allowed to play in the toilet.

So I quick flushed the sponge down the pot.

Only too bad for me. 'Cause that dumb thing got stucked in the hole.

And the water kept on getting higher.

And higher.

And then it runned right over the top!

Mother banged harder.

"I SAID OPEN THE DOOR!"

I did a gulp.

"Yeah, only it's a little bit splashy in here right now," I explained kind of quiet.

Mother unlocked the door with the key.

I smiled very pleasant.

"Hello. How are you today?" I said.

Mother hollered the name of ROBERT!

Robert is my daddy. Except for sometimes he is Bob.

He came running in there.

"Well, good night, folks," I said.

Then I tried to sneak out of there. But Mother held on to my shirt. And so even when I kept on walking, I kept on staying.

She made me help her and Daddy dry up the water with towels.

After that, I had to take a bath. Only I don't know why. 'Cause I was already wet from the toilet.

After my bath, Mother tucked me into bed. Me and her had a little talk.

"Look, Junie B., Daddy and I know you're excited about the carnival," she said. "And we also know you're having fun practicing the games. But you're worrying too much about winning. Nobody can win all of the time.

"Right?" she said.

"Right," I said.

"And besides, the fun of a school carnival isn't whether you win or lose. The fun of a school carnival is just playing the games in the first place.

"Right?" she said.

"Right," I said.
"So we'll go to Carnival Night on Friday. And we'll have a great time. And we won't worry if we don't win any prizes at all.

"Right?" she said.

"Right," I said.

Mother kissed me goodnight. "See you in the morning," she said.

"Right," I said.

After she closed my door, I waited for her feet to walk away. Then I quick took out my flashlight from under my pillow.

I shined it all around my room.

First, I shined it on my dresser.

Then I shined it on my toy box.

Then I shined it on the brand new bookshelf Daddy made me.

I smiled and smiled.
That's where I'm going to put them," I whispered to just myself.

"That is where I'm going to put my hundred prizes."

Editorial Reviews

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."

From the Publisher