Park, Barbara (1947-2013), an American author of children’s books, became best known for her “Junie B. Jones” series for beginning readers. Park also wrote for middle school readers. Her stories have been praised for their humor and their skill at portraying the problems of childhood as seen through the eyes of a child.
Park began her “Junie B. Jones” series with Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (1992). Park portrays Junie as a strong-willed little girl. In the first 16 books in the series, Junie is in kindergarten. She graduates to the first grade in Junie B., First Grader (at Last!), published in 2001. Park wrote two companion books to the series, Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (and Me), published in 2003; and Junie B.’s Essential Survival Guide for School, published in 2009.
Park’s first published children’s book was Don’t Make Me Smile (1981). Like her other books for middle school readers, this story centers on a child and mixes comedy with a more serious theme. Don’t Make Me Smile deals with divorce. The Kid in the Red Jacket (1987) describes the problems of a 10-year-old boy trying to adjust to his family’s move from Arizona to Massachusetts. Mick Harte Was Here (1995) describes how a 13-year-old girl deals with the death of her brother in a bicycle accident.
Barbara Lynne Tidswell was born on April 21, 1947, in Mount Holly, New Jersey. She married Richard A. Park, a real estate broker, in 1969. She received a B.S. degree from the University of Alabama in 1969. Park died on Nov. 15, 2013.
