Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked by Barbara Park was definitely a hit with my soon to be first grader. While she isn’t able to read it all by herself she couldn’t get enough of me reading it to her. In this story, Junie B., First Grader finds out that her class is going to do a play for Parent’s Night. Disappointed that her teacher won’t take her advice on the play being about a mouse, she is put to the task to go home and find out as many facts as she can about Christopher Columbus. Whoever comes back to class with the most facts will get to pick out their character in the play first.

Her mom reminds her that even though the play isn’t about something that she wants, if she gets the most facts she could still be the star of the show. Now Junie B. is excited and hits the books. Junie learns all about Christopher Columbus’ ships, the Pinta, Nina and Santa Maria. Only one other person in class gets as many facts as her so she chooses to be the Pinta because it’s the fastest and since it’s the fastest, it’s the star of the show.

Junie’s classmate, May ends up being stuck with the part of the Santa Maria. May is not happy about her part in the play and Junie doesn’t help by teasing her about being a tub of a ship that is super slow. This turns into an all out feud between the two. Will they make it work for the opening night of their play on Parent’s Night or will it still be a contest between the two on who finds the land first? After all, only one can be the star of the show and the Pinta IS the fastest.

I think what really got my daughter’s attention in this story is the fact that Junie B. is a first grader and the story is written in a first grader’s point of view and verbage. I liked the fact that my daughter, while enjoying the story, also got to learn some facts about Christopher Columbus in the process. The book in its entirety is only 88 pages long so reading it to her didn’t take long at all. Throughout the book there are black and white illustrations to keep your little one engaged in the story even more.