Junie B. Jones #3: Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth Paperback - 1993

From the jacket flap

Sometimes life is P.U.
Junie B.'s having a rough week. First she got punishment for shooting off her mouth in kindergarten. And now she's in big trouble again! 'Cause Monday is Job Day, and Junie B. told her class that she's got the bestest job of all. Only, what the heck "is it?

Excerpt

Chapter 2: The Cop and Dr. Smiley

When we came in from recess, Mrs. was clapping her loud hands together again.

"Boys and girls, please take your seats quickly! I've got a wonderful surprise for you!"

Then I got very excited inside my stomach! Because surprises are my most favorite things in the whole world!

"IS IT JELLY DOUGHNUTS?" I shouted.

Mrs. put her finger to her lips. That means be quiet.

"YEAH, ONLY GUESS WHAT? JELLY DOUGHNUTS ARE MY MOST FAVORITE KIND OF DOUGHNUTS! EXCEPT I ALSO LIKE THE CREAMY KIND. AND THE CHOCOLATE KIND! AND THE KIND WITH RAINBOW SPRINKLES ON THE TOP!"

After that, my mouth got very watering. And some drool fell on the table.

I wiped it up with my sweater sleeve.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

Mrs. hurried to open it.

"HEY! IT'S A COP!" I hollered very excited.

The cop came into Room Nine.

He had on a blue shirt with a shiny badge. And shiny black boots. And a shiny white motorcycle helmet.

Mrs. smiled. "Boys and girls, I would like you to meet my friend, Officer Mike. Officer Mike is a policeman. Who can tell me what policemen do?"

"I can!" I called out. "They rest people! 'Cause one time some cops rested a guy on my street. And so that means they made him take a nap, I think."

Just then that Jim I hate laughed very loud.

"They didn't rest him, stupid!" he hollered. "They arrested him! That means they took him to jail. And so your neighbor's a dirty rotten jailbird!"

Then the other kids laughed too. And so I hided my head.

"Yeah, only I hardly even know the guy," I said to just myself.

After that, Officer Mike took off his shiny white helmet. And he told us some other stuff that cops do. Like give our dads speeding tickets. And rest drunk guys.

Also he let us play with his handcuffs and his shiny white helmet. Except for the helmet was very too big for my head. And it covered up my whole entire eyes.

"HEY! WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS?" I said.

'Cause that was a funny joke, of course.

Then another knock came at the door.

This time it was a lady in a long white jacket. She was carrying a giant red toothbrush.

"Boys and girls, this is Dr. Smiley," said Mrs. "Dr. Smiley is a children's dentist."

Dr. Smiley hung up some posters of teeth. Then she talked all about Mr. Tooth Decay. And she said to brush our teeth at night. And also in the morning.

"Yeah, 'cause if you don't brush in the morning, your breath smells like stink," I said.

After that I showed Dr. Smiley my wiggling tooth.

"Losing baby teeth is exciting, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "Except for I don't like the part where you cry and spit blood."

Dr. Smiley made a sick face. Then she passed out minty green dental floss. And all the kids in Room Nine practiced flossing.

Flossing is when you pull strings through your mouth.

Only pretty soon an accident happened.

That's because a boy named William winded his floss too tight. And his teeth and head got in a tangled knot ball And Dr. Smiley couldn't undo him.

Then Mrs. had to call Janitor speedy quick. And so he runned to Room Nine. And he shined his giant flashlight in William's mouth.

And then Dr. Smiley got the dangerous floss right out of there!

Room Nine clapped and clapped.

Dr. Smiley did a bow.

Then Mrs. said that maybe some of us might like to dress up like dentists or police officers on Job Day.

"Yeah, only what if you don't like drunk guys or bloody teeth"? I asked.

Mrs. rolled her eyes way up at the ceiling. Then she walked Officer Mike and Dr. Smiley out into the hall.

That's when room Nine started buzzing very loud.

Buzzing is what you do when your teacher leaves the room.

"I'm going to dress up like an actress on Job Day," said a girl named Emily.

"I'm going to dress up like a princess," said my bestest friend Lucille that I hate.

I did a giggle. "I'm going to dress up like a bullfighter!" I said.

Then I ran speedy fast around the room. And I butted that mean Jim in the stomach with my head.

And guess what?

I didn't even get caught!

That's what!

Media 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."

Citations

• Booklist, 11/15/1993, Page 626