My daughter reads out loud to her brothers and me in the car to and from school. Since the beginning of the school year, I've heard about Lauren the Puppy Fairy finding lost pets, and Miss Frizzle driving her magic school bus through the laws of physics, and Jack and Annie dropping their tree-house on every time period since the dawn of creation, and Stanley becoming flat and then round again, and found all these series to be anywhere from simplistic and insipid to solidly educational and mildly entertaining.
And then came Junie B.
I love this kid. I love Barbara Park for writing this kid. This series is nothing short of brilliant, reaching that deliriously sublime place where both children and adults are entertained and utterly charmed. Honestly, I could compare it to Seseme Street, which is just about the highest praise I can give.
An excerpt:
"My aunt Bunny is married to my Uncle Vern," Sheldon said. "Aunt Bunny has a lot of --"
Mr. Scary quick held up his hand.
"Yes, Sheldon, we know. You've told us many interesting things about your Aunt Bunny. But right now we don't need to hear any more about your aunt Bunny's --"
"Skull tattoos," said Sheldon.
"Please sit down," said Mr. Scary.
--end
The humor is subtle and intelligent and sweet. When we finished Dumb Bunny I went right out and bought three of the boxed sets so we'd be ready for our road-trip to Florida next month. Highly recommended to anyone with elementary school-aged children.