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    Junonia
    Junonia
    Junonia
    Audiobook2 hours

    Junonia

    Written by Kevin Henkes

    Narrated by Stina Nielsen

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Returning to the beach cottage—a cottage named Scallop—where she has always celebrated her birthday is a special occasion for Alice Rice.

    Who will see the first dolphin this time? The first pelican? What will have changed? Stayed the same? And will this be the year she finally finds a junonia shell?

    Alice's friends are all returning, too. And she's certain her parents have the best party planned for her. Alice can't wait. If Alice is lucky, everything will be absolutely perfect. Will Alice be lucky?

    Multiple award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Kevin Henkes brings his insightful, gentle, real-world insight to middle grade novels, including:

    • Billy Miller Makes a Wish
    • Bird Lake Moon
    • The Birthday Room
    • Junonia
    • Olive's Ocean
    • Protecting Marie
    • Sun & Spoon
    • Sweeping Up the Heart
    • Two Under Par
    • Words of Stone
    • The Year of Billy Miller
    • The Zebra Wall

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 24, 2011
    ISBN9780062111258
    Author

    Kevin Henkes

    Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; two Newbery Honors, one for Olive’s Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller; and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include The World and Everything in It; A House; A Parade of Elephants; Chrysanthemum; and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

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    Reviews for Junonia

    3.5/5

    73 ratings13 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Kevin Henkes novels always have that quiet thoughtfulness about them. Alice and her parents set off for their annual Florida vacation and on this trip she looks forward to turning 10. But the trip isn't exactly as she anticipated when some of her favorite people don't show up, and Aunt Kate's new boyfriend and his daughter Mallory upset the expected dynamic. This is about growing up and learning to deal with the disappointments of life. And being 10, she's on the cusp of realizing life isn't always going to be what you expect or want. It's a pretty deep message once you think about it.
    • 5/5
      There is something about Kevin Henkes novels that I can't quite put my finger on... but I think if I read one without knowing who wrote it, I would be able to identify it as his. The main thing I think is that he is a master of expressing the emotions of children. How they feel. What sparks those feelings. The other thing is that his books are never highly plot-driven. It's more like we just step in and see a segment of the protagonist's life. There is a starting point and and ending point, but the books always seem to be much more about the way the main character feels and interacts with others than it is about plot elements.In Junonia, Alice (9, turning 10 during the book) goes with her parents on an annual vacation to a beach in Florida. When she gets there, she finds that several of the things she looks forward to every year will be different (or non existent) this year. A new girl, several years younger shows up, and Alice must deal with her too. The book is about all of these things, but what it is really about is how Alice feels and reacts to things.It is a lovely book.
    • 3/5
      Beautifully written.
    • 4/5
      A girl is excited to be on her way to her family's annual beach vacation spot in Florida where everything stays the same. She is determined to find the special Junonia shell this time. When they arrive there are changes of plans and the dynamic of the vacation is changed. An introspective book that delves into how she manages each internal struggle. The setting makes you feel as if you are on the beach with her.
    • 4/5
      Alice Rice arrives on Sanibel Island for her family's annual vacation in February -- where she always celebrates her birthday amidst the extended family of a holiday camp. This year is her 10th birthday -- but it's intermittently spoiled by various incidents and mishaps.... Re the awakening of the awareness of age... Even her goal of finding the most rare shell, a junonia, is compromised (as one of the neighbor adults buys her one as if to trick her and pretend it came from the sea - though he immediately confesses). Re the pleasures that can be found amidst disappointments. Re the regret of thinking poorly of others. Learning to forgive and focus on the love, not on the imperfections of experience. [One "bloody hell", spoken by a 90-year-old man....]
    • 4/5
      A sweet little story about that moment of "growing up" or recognizing that you're growing up. Very deftly handled.
    • 5/5
      A beautifully written story about a girl's sometimes painful self-discoveries during the week of her 10th birthday. An exquisite work of literature.
    • 4/5
      Alice and her parents head to FLorida every year for a vacation that also celebrates her birthday, but this year, her tenth, holds changes that Alice finds unsettleing.A quiet, introspective book, Alice is very thoughtful, yet also impatient and unwilling to share her "people", which she's forced to do this year, when a favorite family friend brings a new boyfriend and his six-year-old daughter. Touching on change, its inevitability and all of our reluctance to it, this is a sweet story. I'll be reading it this summer with my 3rd-5th grade book club.Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Nine, almost ten year old Alice Rice and her parents are returning to their favorite vacation spot, a small cottage named Scallop on Sanibel Island in Florida. Alice is excited to celebrate her tenth birthday and continue her search for the rare junonia sea shell, but things don't go as planned. Some of the usual cottage residents will not be there this year and her Aunt Kate is bringing her boyfriend and his six year old daughter, Mallory. Mallory turns out to be very hard to get along with. Will all of this ruin Alice's special birthday? Fans of Henkes's picture books will enjoy the chapter artwork. Junonia is full of vivid descriptions that bring Sanibel island and life on the beach to life! The shell guide in the front of the book is a great reference and makes you want to find the nearest beach and get started on your own collection! I loved Alice and her imaginative, wondering, thoughtful way. A nice message of learning to be ok with change and having compassion for others. A perfect story about the magic of vacations to read in anticipation of a trip or even beach reading! Recommended for grades 3 and up.
    • 3/5
      Very sweet book dealing with aspects of being an only child with no close relatives and the relationships formed with the other guests at a Florida resort.
    • 3/5
      The ocean has always been a place of solace for me, water baby that I am. The same can be said for a young girl named Alice, whose family goes to a beach house in Florida every winter. Each year, Alice celebrates her birthday while on vacation, and this year is especially special: She’s turning ten years old, double-digits! She’s excited beyond belief, but that emotion quickly tapers off as she realizes that this year won’t be the same as previous ones. First, some older kids can no longer come on vacation due to a heightened course load at school, then her favorite artist gets stranded due to a snow storm. To top it all off, her favorite aunt shows up—but with her new boyfriend and his five-year-old brat, Mallory. This will definitely be a summer for Alice to remember, but will those memories be good ones or tarnish her love of a place she’s always loved?Kevin Henkes has a beautiful way of writing. His sentences are so precious, so descriptive, that I just wanted to scoop them up and let them sit on my tongue to melt like drops of sugar. He’s good at creating a picture with words that evokes the perfect image in the mind’s eye. He’s best-known for his picture books, especially KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON, which won the Caldecott in 2005, along with several other prizes. His art in JUNONIA is whimsical and light; in the finished product, the illustration that begins each chapter reminds me of a pen-and-ink drawing, and each image is bursting with images of a beach vacation.The heart of JUNONIA is very delicate. There isn’t a lot of action in this short middle-grade novel. Alice is very introspective for a girl her age, which some readers in the 7 - 12 demographic might have trouble relating to. They might get bored and put the novel down. At the same time, the book has a soothing quality to it destined to appeal to readers who get scared by a lot of big events and not knowing what comes next. On top of that, Henkes sneaks a powerful lesson into the pages of his book about the power of sharing, as well as the way everything changes, but not always in a bad way. Alice does a lot of growing up in this book, which ends on just the right note.
    • 4/5
      What happens when things in your life keep changing? This is the main theme of Kevin Henkes' new book, "Junonia." Litlle (soon to be) 10 year old Alice Rice (Pudding - word play endearment used by her family) is not a happy girl on this year's annual visit to Florida. Many of the people she is used to seeing won't be there this time and if that's not bad enough, her mom's best friend is bringing a strange man and his daughter. Even though Alice knows that this new little 6 year old girl is missing her mom very much and is having problems dealing with it, Alice and she don't get along very well. So Alice copes by searching for seashells and looking forward to her 10th birthday party. And she's hoping that this will be the year she finds the elusive Junonia shell.
    • 4/5
      If you loved Olive's Ocean then you'll enjoy this. Another poignant coming of age story by Henkes, where the main character overcomes the narrowness of a child's perspective and starts to understand the world more broadly.