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Remembering the famous children’s book author
Barbara Park, the author behind popular children’s books “Junie B. Jones” died on Friday at her home in Scottsdale, AZ from ovarian cancer. She was 66. Parks death was confirmed by her publisher, Random House Children’s Books.
The Junie B. Jones books were aimed at beginning readers with illustrations done by Denise Brunkus. Altogether, the series comprises nearly 30 titles, and the books have sold more than 55 million copies in North America, according to Random House. Park’s books have also been translated into a dozen languages.
If you grew up reading the books, you will be quite familiar with the famous line “My name is Junie B. Jones,” the main character declares in the opening sentence. “The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and that’s all.”
At the start of the book, Junie is about to begin kindergarten. Ms. Park kept Junie in kindergarten for nearly a decade before finally writing a book where Junie enters first grade.
Ms. Park’s books became a sensation among readers and reviewers mostly for her remarkable ability to write convincingly in the first-person voice of a child despite being a full-grown adult.
Another trademark of the books is Junie’s diction characterized by an imperfect grasp of English grammar. Capturing the true essence of a child learning grammar, she favors superlatives like “bestest” and “funnest” and past tenses like “runned” and “thinked.”
While this may not have gone over well with parents and educators, the books were still “sassy, hilarious and insightful,” trade publication Booklist wrote in 2002.
Barbara Lynne Tidswell was born on April 21, 1947, in Mount Holly Township, N.J. She attended Rider College in Lawrence Township, N.J., earning her bachelor’s degree in history and political science from the University of Alabama.
Ms. Park began publishing children’s books in the early 1980s. She developed a reputation for addressing heavy subjects by adding a light touch and bittersweet humor. Her first published book, “Don’t Make Me Smile” (1981), is the story of a 10-year-old boy whose parents are divorcing.
Ms. Park is survived by her Richard A. Park, two sons, Steven and David; a brother, Brooke Tidswell, and two grandchildren.
By: Maytinee Kramer
