Every Junie B. Jones Book in Order, 1 to 28

Your child comes home from the first week of school full of stories about the bus, the lunch line and a kid who would not share the crayons, and that is the moment this series was written for. This guide puts all the Junie B. Jones books in order, explains the kindergarten and First Grader numbering, and sorts the real series from the extras on the shelf.

Does the order of the Junie B. Jones books matter?

Order matters more than it seems, because the heroine grows up across the series. She starts kindergarten in book 1, finishes it in book 17, and moves to first grade in book 18. A child who reads in order watches her school life change with her.

Each book still tells one complete story, so a child can pick up book 9 and enjoy it. What they miss is the running cast: her best friends Lucille and Grace, her rival Meanie Jim, and the baby brother who arrives in book 2.

Who made Junie B. Jones

Barbara Park (1947 to 2013) wrote every numbered book, and Denise Brunkus drew the pictures. Random House published the first title in 1992 and the last in 2012, a year before Park died.

Random House now sells the books in its Stepping Stone line for ages 6 to 9 and says the series has sold over 80 million copies. That is why so many parents who read Junie B. as kids now buy her for their own children.

All 28 Junie B. Jones books in order

The numbered series has 28 stories. The titles and years below come from the Barbara Park bibliography, checked against the numbered book pages on the Random House site.

Random House now lists every title with its number, as in "Junie B. Jones #18: First Grader (at Last!)". The number keeps counting from 1 to 28 after the title changes to "First Grader", so a set labeled 1 to 28 is the complete story run.

Kindergarten books vs First Grader books

The kindergarten books (1 to 17) center on first-time school events: the bus, Job Day, a birthday party she is left out of, a field trip to a farm and graduation day. Junie B. is "almost six" at the start.

The First Grader books (18 to 28) move her to a new classroom, Room One, with a new teacher and classmates. The problems grow a little: vision trouble in book 18, a loose tooth in book 20, cheating in book 21 and a secret Santa in book 25.

The extras: companion books and graphic novels

Several Junie B. books carry no series number. They are fun add-ons, and none of them is needed to follow the story.

The graphic novels are adapted by Colleen AF Venable and drawn by Honie Beam. The third one, Her Big Fat Mouth, came out on May 5, 2026, for ages 6 to 9. For a child who finds a full page of text too much, the comics are a good bridge into the novels.

Which count is right: 28, 31 or 32?

Lists disagree because they count different things. The series article on Wikipedia gives 31: the 28 stories plus three activity books. Add My Valentime and you get 32, and the graphic novels raise the number again.

For a reader, the number that matters is 28. That is the full story run, and it is what this list puts in order.

How to read Junie B. Jones with a new reader, step by step

The books have short chapters and Denise Brunkus drawings throughout. That makes them one of the gentlest first steps from picture books into chapter books.

1. Start with book 1, read aloud. The Stupid Smelly Bus covers Junie B.'s first day of kindergarten. Read the first chapter yourself so your child hears her voice before they see her grammar on the page.
2. Do the voice. Junie B. is loud, bossy and dramatic. A child who hears her read with feeling will laugh more, and the laugh is what brings them back.
3. Talk about her mistakes out loud. When a title says "Valentime", ask your child how a grown-up would say it. That turns the grammar complaint into a spot-the-mistake game.
4. Swap reading turns. From book 3 or 4, let your child read one page while you read the next. Short chapters make that easy to keep up.
5. Keep the next book in sight. Momentum is everything with a new reader. Have books 2 and 3 ready before book 1 ends.
6. Move to the First Grader books after book 17. If your child is in first grade already, the switch to a new class in book 18 will feel familiar.

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The part parents get wrong

Many parents correct Junie B.'s grammar every time it appears, and that kills the fun. Pick one or two mistakes per chapter to talk about and let the rest go by.

• Correcting every word: constant stops break the story, so save the grammar talk for one or two lines a chapter.
• Counting extras as missing books: the journal, puzzle book and graphic novels have no number, so a 1 to 28 set is complete without them.
• Skipping to the First Grader books: book 18 makes more sense after the graduation story in book 17, so finish kindergarten first.

Kids at this age can tell how a character talks from how they should talk. Our guide on when kids learn to read explains why a book they love does more for reading than a perfect one they skip.

Why is Junie B. Jones banned, or challenged?

The series was challenged more often than it was banned. The American Library Association put the series at number 71 on its Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000 to 2009. A challenge is a request to remove or restrict a book in a library or school; a ban is the removal itself.

The reasons on record are about grammar and behavior. Critics said the books taught poor social values and that its heroine was a poor role model because of her mouthiness, bad spelling and grammar. She talks back and breaks rules, which is also why so many kids recognize themselves in her.

What Barbara Park said

Park answered her critics directly. She wrote that a book "is of extraordinary value if it gives the reader nothing more than a smile or two," and added, "I happen to think that's huge."

Whether the series fits your family is your call. Read one book together, and you will know fast if Junie B.'s attitude is a joke your child gets or a habit you do not want to borrow.

What to read after Junie B. Jones

A child who finishes all 28 books is ready for slightly longer chapter books with the same school-day feel. Three series are a natural next step.

Magic Tree House started in 1992, the same year as this series, and comes from the same publisher. Our Magic Tree House books in order list has the full numbering. Ivy + Bean and Judy Moody keep the funny, flawed heroine and add more words per page.

More lists by age

For a wider set of picks, see our books for 6-year-olds and books for 7-year-olds. The chapter books for kids graduating from picture books list covers the same jump Junie B. makes so well, and our read-aloud books for kids help when a younger sibling wants in.

Your Junie B. Jones reading checklist

• Confirm the count. Twenty-eight numbered stories, 1 to 17 in kindergarten and 18 to 28 in first grade.
• Start at book 1. The bus story sets up the class, the friends and Junie B.'s voice.
• Keep extras separate. The journal, survival guide, puzzle book and graphic novels are bonuses, not missing volumes.
• Read the first one aloud. Hearing her voice first makes the grammar part of the joke.
• Decide on the challenge question yourself. One book together tells you more than any list.

A child who loves Junie B.'s school days can star in a story about their own first day. KidTeller turns your child's photo into the illustrated hero, writes a fresh story from the idea you type in free text, such as a scary bus ride or a new teacher, and tunes the story to your child's age.