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Junior Miss
Judy Graves is the girl everyone knows. She's the kid next door who wears a sloppy sweater, two charm bracelets and a locket with pictures. Judy is one of the crowd giggling and laughing in the corner of the drugstore. But she's also the child who becomes a young lady the day she puts on her first formal gown. Judy is every teenage girl. She personifies the realities and fantasies of the in-between years, the joys and heartaches of growing up.
214 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1941
3 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Sally Benson
40 books15 followersSally Benson was an American author of short stories and screenplays. She was born Sara Smith in St. Louis, Missouri, but moved to New York City late in her childhood. After graduating from Horace Mann School, she married Reynolds "Babe" Benson and began publishing short stories. She is best known for her semi-autobiographical collections Meet Me in St. Louis and Junior Miss, each first published as a series of 12 short stories in The New Yorker. She died in Woodland Hills, California, in 1972.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 20, 2007
I bought this book from an old man who had a pile of them for sale at an Altadena farmer's market / junk bonanza. He gave me a very serious look and said, "They don't make 'em like this anymore."
My version of "Junior Miss," which looks different than the one here, is a beautiful gem from 1942. The cover is a washed out teal blue that Ralph Lauren should rip off for his paint line, and the front inside flap actually has this to say about the book: "as appealing a little job as can be found between two book covers." Little job?! YES!! And the back flap urges you to purchase War Bonds! "To buy them is to become a true soldier of Democracy." I could go on and on about the cover alone but then I wouldn't have time to describe the pleasures and problems of this "little job."
Junior Miss is a novel with titled chapters; each could stand alone as a short story. It's very much a product of its time but the writing is simple and poignant. It is undeniably genuine and sweet at nearly every turn. There is very little artifice employed beyond the craft of storytelling, which, as its presented here, feels sturdy and right, like a pot-roast dinner or a wooden chair. Author Sally Benson would like nothing to do with experimentation, thank you very much. She just wouldn't understand why these men, like that Thomas Pynchon fellow, insist on writing in such a difficult way! The English language can be quite beautiful when used simply and effectively, good sir!
Sometimes, bad things happen to the characters of this book but it always ends with a gorgeous life lesson that's impossible to read through without getting some sort of twinge in your heart. I'm serious. In one story, the little girl of the family, Judy, and her friend Fuffy (!!) adopt a baby mouse they find in the Vermont forest. They feed it with an eye dropper, make a bed for it out of an egg carton and when it inevitably dies, they have a funeral. Yes, it's a story about our own mortality and our first brushes with realizing we will all die someday. And it is so cute, so perfect and considered that to not revel 100% in its sentiment is to announce you are for the other side, which is inherently dark and cruel and, gasp, cynical.
And therein lies the problem with "Junior Miss." It is too goddamn perfect all the time. Sometimes Benson presents the flaws of any member of the Graves family, like Judy, whose cross to bear is that she's a little pudgy. Now I know that can be hard for a little girl, I do, but c'mon! Even in their flaws, the Graves family is adorable, all the time. I'm pretty sure Benson, if she could, would set every story on Christmas morning ("Oh Mother, I love it!") but she's a good enough writer that she doesn't do that. However, she does allow herself several foamy French chapter titles, that would be wreathed in baby's breath, if at all possible. My non-favorite is "Madame la Marquise, Toujours Exquise." That's right. It. rhymes.
I read a chapter a night of "Junior Miss" for a couple of weeks but a month or so ago, I stopped. I was truly worried it was doing something to me as a writer. "Junior Miss" suffers from cancer of the nice and it will try to metastasize into your brain. It is quite effective. I was questioning myself. What's your problem, Margaret? Why do your characters have to say such mean things to each other? Why are all your stories so depraved? Sex and drugs and weirdo imaginary shit. Is it really necessary?
Probably all good questions to ask on some level but no, at the same time, I do not need to feel like some sort of convict when I'm reading a book because I cannot match its tender effervescence, even in my most sentimental moments. I'll go back to "Junior Miss" someday, maybe after something stupid and cruel and useless happens in the world, but until then, au revoir.
My version of "Junior Miss," which looks different than the one here, is a beautiful gem from 1942. The cover is a washed out teal blue that Ralph Lauren should rip off for his paint line, and the front inside flap actually has this to say about the book: "as appealing a little job as can be found between two book covers." Little job?! YES!! And the back flap urges you to purchase War Bonds! "To buy them is to become a true soldier of Democracy." I could go on and on about the cover alone but then I wouldn't have time to describe the pleasures and problems of this "little job."
Junior Miss is a novel with titled chapters; each could stand alone as a short story. It's very much a product of its time but the writing is simple and poignant. It is undeniably genuine and sweet at nearly every turn. There is very little artifice employed beyond the craft of storytelling, which, as its presented here, feels sturdy and right, like a pot-roast dinner or a wooden chair. Author Sally Benson would like nothing to do with experimentation, thank you very much. She just wouldn't understand why these men, like that Thomas Pynchon fellow, insist on writing in such a difficult way! The English language can be quite beautiful when used simply and effectively, good sir!
Sometimes, bad things happen to the characters of this book but it always ends with a gorgeous life lesson that's impossible to read through without getting some sort of twinge in your heart. I'm serious. In one story, the little girl of the family, Judy, and her friend Fuffy (!!) adopt a baby mouse they find in the Vermont forest. They feed it with an eye dropper, make a bed for it out of an egg carton and when it inevitably dies, they have a funeral. Yes, it's a story about our own mortality and our first brushes with realizing we will all die someday. And it is so cute, so perfect and considered that to not revel 100% in its sentiment is to announce you are for the other side, which is inherently dark and cruel and, gasp, cynical.
And therein lies the problem with "Junior Miss." It is too goddamn perfect all the time. Sometimes Benson presents the flaws of any member of the Graves family, like Judy, whose cross to bear is that she's a little pudgy. Now I know that can be hard for a little girl, I do, but c'mon! Even in their flaws, the Graves family is adorable, all the time. I'm pretty sure Benson, if she could, would set every story on Christmas morning ("Oh Mother, I love it!") but she's a good enough writer that she doesn't do that. However, she does allow herself several foamy French chapter titles, that would be wreathed in baby's breath, if at all possible. My non-favorite is "Madame la Marquise, Toujours Exquise." That's right. It. rhymes.
I read a chapter a night of "Junior Miss" for a couple of weeks but a month or so ago, I stopped. I was truly worried it was doing something to me as a writer. "Junior Miss" suffers from cancer of the nice and it will try to metastasize into your brain. It is quite effective. I was questioning myself. What's your problem, Margaret? Why do your characters have to say such mean things to each other? Why are all your stories so depraved? Sex and drugs and weirdo imaginary shit. Is it really necessary?
Probably all good questions to ask on some level but no, at the same time, I do not need to feel like some sort of convict when I'm reading a book because I cannot match its tender effervescence, even in my most sentimental moments. I'll go back to "Junior Miss" someday, maybe after something stupid and cruel and useless happens in the world, but until then, au revoir.
January 20, 2025
This was....interesting. Benson wrote this semi-autobiographical collection of short stories for The New Yorker.
Think of Leave it to Beaver, except the time is 1940, and the boys are girls. Dad swears, and even though Mom graduated from Smith College, she struggles to make change for $5 in her head. Oh, and they have a maid and a summer home in Vermont. Poor Judy is a chubby 12-year-old fat-shamed by her older sister Lois. In today's world, she would develop an eating disorder. I identified with Judy the most in the story where she and her friend find a newborn mouse and decide to make a pet of it. I tried that with a few wild babies in my youth.
Think of Leave it to Beaver, except the time is 1940, and the boys are girls. Dad swears, and even though Mom graduated from Smith College, she struggles to make change for $5 in her head. Oh, and they have a maid and a summer home in Vermont. Poor Judy is a chubby 12-year-old fat-shamed by her older sister Lois. In today's world, she would develop an eating disorder. I identified with Judy the most in the story where she and her friend find a newborn mouse and decide to make a pet of it. I tried that with a few wild babies in my youth.
July 12, 2023
Such a fun book! I was given this book for free when I bought a vintage board game (Solarquest!) at a vintage toy/comic store in Exeter, New Hampshire. I thought, well, I may as well give it a try!
It was surprisingly fun and I really liked it. I realized early on that this 1941 book was originally a semi-autobiographical, serialized story written by Sally Benson and published in the New Yorker. Then, it went on to be a Broadway play, a radio show, and a sitcom.
This collection of short, chapter-like novellas are very charming and amusing. You meet Judy, her sister Lois, and her parents Mr. and Mrs. Graves, along with their cook Hilda. Every chapter is a new mini-adventure or glimpse into a memorable day in Judy's life from 1929 to 1941.
The reader gets to see Judy grow up little by little during these pre-teen years and some of the entries are very poignant and touching.
I had no idea that this book would be so enjoyable. It reminded me a little of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, even though it takes place over years instead of a single day. The sparkling quality is there and I will definitely read it again.
Though it's not the best book I've read this year, it is the one that has exceeded my expectations the most. Very much recommended if you like YA girls stories that take place in the interwar years.
It was surprisingly fun and I really liked it. I realized early on that this 1941 book was originally a semi-autobiographical, serialized story written by Sally Benson and published in the New Yorker. Then, it went on to be a Broadway play, a radio show, and a sitcom.
This collection of short, chapter-like novellas are very charming and amusing. You meet Judy, her sister Lois, and her parents Mr. and Mrs. Graves, along with their cook Hilda. Every chapter is a new mini-adventure or glimpse into a memorable day in Judy's life from 1929 to 1941.
The reader gets to see Judy grow up little by little during these pre-teen years and some of the entries are very poignant and touching.
I had no idea that this book would be so enjoyable. It reminded me a little of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, even though it takes place over years instead of a single day. The sparkling quality is there and I will definitely read it again.
Though it's not the best book I've read this year, it is the one that has exceeded my expectations the most. Very much recommended if you like YA girls stories that take place in the interwar years.
February 11, 2017
Sally Benson is best known for "Meet Me in St.Louis", but this little set of stories is also worth a read. Unfortunately the book is a little hard to find for free, or at least the local libraries in my area didn't have it, so I had to buy a copy (it is not available as an ebook either). If you take the trouble to locate a copy, you will find a set of charmingly witty stories about a young girl and her family that take place in NYC of the late 30's and early 40's. If they were written today, I have no doubt that they would have a lot more bite, but Benson manages to impart a little zing to stories that could easily become so sweet that your teeth would ache. Luckily she avoids that pitfall. Despite the decades that have passed, the characters in this book seem remarkably modern proving that childhood may have changed, but children really haven't.
June 15, 2015
Did you know this book was the namesake of Junior Mints? I love Junior Mints! This book is a series of snapshots showing what it means to be a girl moving from the world of childhood to adulthood. It is well written and was apparently quite a hit in its days spawning a stage show, a radio series, a movie and of course a candy.
November 18, 2014
An utterly darling and charming portrait of an upper class New York family in the late 1930s, as told through a series of short stories about the baby of the family, 12-year-old Judy. The details about the clothing and Christmas presents, in particular, were exquisite.
March 15, 2023
Junior Miss was a popular serialized story written by Sally Benson for The New Yorker, and this novel is an assembly of those short stories. It later inspired a Broadway play, a radio show, a film, and a sitcom.
Judy Graves is an energetic middle-class tween struggling with becoming an adult. She has an older sister and two loving parents who sometimes find her eccentricities to be exasperating. Her best friend Fluffy shares in her adventures. We see them at Christmastime, on summer vacation, getting ready to attend a formal dance with a boy, etc. It is a charming, relatable read.
Judy Graves is an energetic middle-class tween struggling with becoming an adult. She has an older sister and two loving parents who sometimes find her eccentricities to be exasperating. Her best friend Fluffy shares in her adventures. We see them at Christmastime, on summer vacation, getting ready to attend a formal dance with a boy, etc. It is a charming, relatable read.
December 24, 2012
Very much a Christmassy sort of book: the Graves family lives in Manhattan, and the protagonist, Judy Graves, is twelve, right at the cusp between childhood and adolescence. Her older sister, Lois, is everything that Judy is not yet: tall, slender, graceful, socially poised (or at least as much as any fifteen year old is).
Events range from picking out a new coat, with a much desired squirrel collar, getting an official allowance and going out to a party in her first formal.
The chapters in the book are actually individual short stories, which originally appeared in magazines of the time, so the book has overall a slightly jerky feel to it. Overall the tone reminds me, in some ways, of Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary, but written a generation earlier.
Events range from picking out a new coat, with a much desired squirrel collar, getting an official allowance and going out to a party in her first formal.
The chapters in the book are actually individual short stories, which originally appeared in magazines of the time, so the book has overall a slightly jerky feel to it. Overall the tone reminds me, in some ways, of Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary, but written a generation earlier.
November 2, 2016
Pre-teen Judy stars in these stories that originally appeared in The New Yorker magazine in the late thirties and early forties.
April 18, 2024
What a delightful little gem. I found this at my local library’s book sale and chortled my way through its endearing pages. The main character, Judy, reminds me so much of myself at that age…hysterically imaginative, eccentric, and bright. I did find her family a bit too aloof and even unkind toward Judy at times, although they always come around with great pride and delight at her antics. I think this would make a great read-aloud book.
August 15, 2018
What an upper-class twit. Judy is dull, uninsightful, self-centered, and generally grating. Set at the tail end of the Great Depression, Judy is a child in an upper class family who seems to have no idea that just about everyone is having worse than her. Her complaints are frivolous. Because she is so stupid and insipid, she is almost never charming. Despite what other characters think. There were a couple of funny bits in this book, and it was a fast read. I can definitely see this as children's escape literature for that time. But god, isn't it outdated.
January 17, 2021
I need to read this again. When I read this book I was younger than the title character, and at the time it made a huge impression on me, because the main character's mesmerized but also mystified me.
I didn't bother to notice that the author was the same person who wrote Meet Me in Saint Louis, which sat on the family bookshelf and which I also read to shreds and can still quote.
I didn't bother to notice that the author was the same person who wrote Meet Me in Saint Louis, which sat on the family bookshelf and which I also read to shreds and can still quote.
June 25, 2012
These were short stories in the New Yorker in 1940/41. Judy Graves is twelve, the age we are all at our most gawky, clumsy and self conscious (thank goodness). Not yet a teen, but no longer a child interested in dolls, etc. When so many things are SO IMPORTANT. Benson captures this all perfectly. I especially was amused by Judy going to see Shirley Temple in a movie and then acting out the young star"s behaviors, tossing her (non existent) curls and skipping.
January 19, 2011
This book came from my deceased aunt's collection and I do not believe I would have been exposed to it otherwise. It may have been in her collection due to the fictional family having the same surname as our family - nevertheless, the story is charming. Although written decades ago this story is timeless.
December 9, 2013
Junior Miss was a favorite movie from my youth. The book is a compilation of short stories set in Manhattan and published in the New Yorker Magazine in pre-WWII. I'm sure the movie connection added to the enjoyment of this read, but it was very amusing anyway. And as a parent of two daughters, I could certainly relate to the father character.
September 7, 2017
As a fan of the 1945 movie about young teen Judy Graves, I thought I was going to enjoy the source material more. The movie has a cohesive plot, while the book is actually a collection of short stories that originally appeared in The New Yorker magazine. I thought the movie captured both the humor and the poignancy of Judy's awkward age between young girl and "junior miss" better than the book.
July 28, 2011
I loved this when I was a girl and read it several times. I recently bought a copy with this cover (old library copy) and tucked it onto the shelf with great affection. I haven't reread it so have no idea if it holds up to closer scrutiny.
September 6, 2011
I received this book when I was ten and loved it. I have since reread it several times. This book is quite charming and timeless. I hold it dear to me, almost like a security blanket. Lovely read.
July 30, 2013
A pleasant, enjoyable read.
March 12, 2016
This book belonged to my great-grandmother which is pretty cool. It was a strange book though.
Want to read
November 18, 2016via Gretchen on episode 52 of WSIRN. She had me at 1930's coming of age.
Read
December 14, 2016Delightful. Love an "old-fashioned" read.
December 6, 2022
I'm the target audience for episodic stories about ordinary family life. I also enjoy fluffy midcentury novels, mostly as an exploration of what people of the past read. So a friend gave me this book, and I should have loved it
I did not.
It was written between 1939 and 1941, apparently as magazine serials judging from the episodic nature and repeated information. The stories feature the Graves family -- Mr. and Mrs. Graves, 15-year-old Lois, and (primarily) 12-year-old Judy. They are rather well-off. They live in a New York apartment, the girls attend a private school, and they have a maid. The stories are very slice-of-life, dealing mostly with Judy's attempts to grow up into the society that her mother and Lois inhabit.
I assumed the stories were written for teenage girls (I have a couple of collections of those). So from the very first story, I was taken aback by the sheer unkindness of the family and the author herself. Judy is established as being shapeless, stocky, pudgy, ungainly -- mostly by Lois pointing it out, and Mrs. Graves tacitly agreeing. Throughout the rest of the stories, nobody is presented with any particular warmth. Mr. Graves is uncommunicative, Mrs. Graves is too concerned with image and propriety, and Lois is downright bitchy. The author mocks all her characters, and especially enjoys having her young characters repeat adult jokes without understanding them. The author also didn't bother bringing them to much of a close; the stories just kind of trailed off instead of ending. I was so confused and nonplussed. What a terrible collection of stories.
Finally, by the end of the collection, I realized what I was reading. It was satire mixed with nostalgia, and surely written for an adult audience. That explained my reaction, because I don't enjoy satire and I have no nostalgia for upperclass New Yorkers just before WWII. In retrospect, the whole vibe reminded me of the movie "A Christmas Story," which I despise.
With that perspective, I could see why the stories would appeal to someone who wasn't me. And to be honest, I should have caught on much sooner. In the very first story, Mrs. Graves buys a new coat for Judy that cost $29.95 -- roughly $600 in today's money. Kind of hard to relate to and sympathize with people who can spend that much money on a girl's coat, when I have carpets that desperately need replacing.
Anyway, I usually enjoy a foray into midcentury fluff literature, so I'm not sorry I read this. I just didn't like it.
I did not.
It was written between 1939 and 1941, apparently as magazine serials judging from the episodic nature and repeated information. The stories feature the Graves family -- Mr. and Mrs. Graves, 15-year-old Lois, and (primarily) 12-year-old Judy. They are rather well-off. They live in a New York apartment, the girls attend a private school, and they have a maid. The stories are very slice-of-life, dealing mostly with Judy's attempts to grow up into the society that her mother and Lois inhabit.
I assumed the stories were written for teenage girls (I have a couple of collections of those). So from the very first story, I was taken aback by the sheer unkindness of the family and the author herself. Judy is established as being shapeless, stocky, pudgy, ungainly -- mostly by Lois pointing it out, and Mrs. Graves tacitly agreeing. Throughout the rest of the stories, nobody is presented with any particular warmth. Mr. Graves is uncommunicative, Mrs. Graves is too concerned with image and propriety, and Lois is downright bitchy. The author mocks all her characters, and especially enjoys having her young characters repeat adult jokes without understanding them. The author also didn't bother bringing them to much of a close; the stories just kind of trailed off instead of ending. I was so confused and nonplussed. What a terrible collection of stories.
Finally, by the end of the collection, I realized what I was reading. It was satire mixed with nostalgia, and surely written for an adult audience. That explained my reaction, because I don't enjoy satire and I have no nostalgia for upperclass New Yorkers just before WWII. In retrospect, the whole vibe reminded me of the movie "A Christmas Story," which I despise.
With that perspective, I could see why the stories would appeal to someone who wasn't me. And to be honest, I should have caught on much sooner. In the very first story, Mrs. Graves buys a new coat for Judy that cost $29.95 -- roughly $600 in today's money. Kind of hard to relate to and sympathize with people who can spend that much money on a girl's coat, when I have carpets that desperately need replacing.
Anyway, I usually enjoy a foray into midcentury fluff literature, so I'm not sorry I read this. I just didn't like it.
November 21, 2019
Strange but really sweet. This was written welllll before my time and I'd not heard of the movie, so I wasn't used to the writing style (it being a collection of short stories?), nor many of the cultural differences between 1940 and now. However, it's written simply (for teens) so it wasn't too dry to read and I like period pieces, at least when it comes to movies. Because of the vast time differences, I didn't relate a ton, but found it rather interesting and also a sweet coming-of-age story. I liked the relationship between Judy and her sister as well.
May 23, 2021
A delightful peek into an affluent late 1930's home. It made for very calming reading at night. I'm pretty sure that 1) it's a book for tweens in the Great Depression and 2) I'm going to get the author's other books. I hadn't realized until after I read this book that it was from the author who wrote Meet Me in St Louis.
July 17, 2018
Charming, funny, sometimes poignant series of vignettes about a 12-year-old girl who is dramatic, creative, a bit clunky, and quite funny. The 1941 book consists of pieces that initially appeared in The New Yorker, and they retain the flavor of the magazine at that time. Very enjoyable.
October 10, 2019
A nostalgic read in every sense of the word, even in the recommendations. I read it in a smelly 1959 edition and that covers about all.
movie Junior Miss (1945) https://youtu.be/FvZU8Y8tYiE enjoy ;-)
movie Junior Miss (1945) https://youtu.be/FvZU8Y8tYiE enjoy ;-)
May 14, 2020
An endearing group of short stories about a young girl with a perfect older sister.
June 28, 2020
This actually surprised me. I thought at first it was just a book for young teens, but the writing, and some of the subject matter, had a maturity that went beyond that level.
May 28, 2021
Sally Benson 1897-1972
c.1941 New Yorker interconnectedness stories, Peggy Ann Garner Oscar movie 1945.
Alfred Hitchcock ‘Shadow Of a Doubt screenplay 1943
c.1941 New Yorker interconnectedness stories, Peggy Ann Garner Oscar movie 1945.
Alfred Hitchcock ‘Shadow Of a Doubt screenplay 1943
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews