Is Junie B. the new Ramona?

Reader Mikki sent me this story from The New York Times about a children’s book series featuring a sassy heroine, Junie B. Jones.
Apparently, some parents are not feeling Junie B. books:

Their disagreement is a pint-size version of the lingering education battle between advocates of phonics,who believe children should be taught proper spelling and grammar from the outset, and those who favor whole language, a literacy method that accepts misspellings and other errors as long as children are engaged in reading and writing.
The spunky kindergartener (first grader in more recent volumes) is prone to troublemaking, often calls people names and isn’t averse to talking back to her teachers. And though she is the narrator of the stories, she struggles with grammar. Her adverbs lack the suffix “ly�; subject and object pronouns give her problems, as do possessives; she usually isn’t able to conjugate irregular past tense verbs; and words like funnest and beautifuller are the mainstays of her vocabulary.

The horror! Parents are also miffed that Junie B. isn’t all sugar and spice and defies authority. And when I say miffed, I mean crazy.

With every new kindergarten class comes attempts to ban the books. In 2004 Barbara Park was selected as one of the American Library Association’s 10 Most Frequently Challenged Authors, alongside Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and John Steinbeck.

Luckily, Park has a good attitude about it. “I’ve never been in such good company!� the 60-year old author said.
I was a huge fan of Ramona Quimby when I was a kid, I thought she was such a bad-ass–same with Pippi Longstocking and Eloise. In fact, any book about a feisty little girl captured my heart. My all time most read book when I was a kid was Caddie Woodlawn.
I say any book that encourages girls to be individuals, as opposed to vapid consumers, is fine by me–good grammar or no.
Random question: Why do so many spunky girl protagonists have red hair? (Caddie, Anne of Green Gables, Pippi)