Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

Junie B. may be a young child, but her experiences and feelings demonstrate a very human desire: to feel in control of her body and her choices. She repeatedly differentiates herself from babies, whom she perceives as being less autonomous than herself. Moreover, when she is denied opportunities to be self-governing, perhaps making a choice or decision that adults would prefer she wouldn’t, she gets upset. These responses emphasize a very human wish for independence and personal freedom of choice.

Often, when Junie B. gets emotional, she explicitly denies any similarity between herself and babies, who are helpless and, thus, disempowered. On the bus, which she quickly grows to dislike, she says, “[M]y eyes got a little bit wet. I wasn’t crying, though. ’Cause I’m not a baby, that’s why” (17). She doesn’t want to admit that she’s crying because this makes her feel less in control of herself and her feelings. She longs to feel confident and authoritative, especially because she’s so uncertain and confused in this moment. Likewise, when she falls asleep while hiding in the closet, she says that she’s just resting, which is “not the same thing as a nap, though. ’Cause naps are for babies, that’s why” (40).