The day after the Fourth of July I started reading the pile of kids' books we bought at the library sale before the parade. $4.50 plus a 50 cent donation, so no one had to worry about exact change, yielded nine Magic Tree House books, two Junie B. Jones books, a talking Barbie dictionary that turned out to have a loose connection, and one Abby Cadabby book.
Monkey2 really seemed to enjoy listening to Junie B. Jones, a series about a kindergartener. In one book her baby brother was born, and when grandma came home from the hospital reporting that he was a cute little monkey, Junie took this literally and proudly reported to her class that her baby brother was a baby monkey. Okay, cute. BUT heavens is it ungrammatical!
The book is written approximately as a kindergartener would talk, and while this creates a very convincing character, it is impossible for me to read aloud. I keep correcting the grammar as I go. Not in my head, mind you, but aloud, on the fly, as I read this book aloud for the first time.
Junie B., you are not coming home with us. Dr. Seuss' fragments are one thing, but I simply can't stand this. Correct language usage comes from hearing and reading it used properly.
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