Barbara Park & Junie B. Jones

Sadly, Barbara Park passed away over the weekend after a long battle with ovarian cancer.  She is best well known for her beloved series, Junie B. Jones, but was also the author of a number of other chapter books including Mick Harte Was Here, the Skinnybones series, as well as number of others.

Junie B. Jones is a beloved children’s character of early elementary school students who can greatly relate to her zany antics and laughable situations.  Some parents and teachers have voiced their concerns about this series due to Junie’s incorrect use of language throughout the series.  In my own opinion, as many others have said, Junie uses language and tries to follow the rules, but with things such as irregular verbs, tenses, and pronouns, she (like many kindergarteners and first graders) makes mistakes.  As children grow older, they soon learn the unspoken rules of the English language and are soon not having as much difficulty speaking.  Junie B. Jones is loved by many children worldwide and I’m sure going to miss seeing her bright face on a new cover!

Publisher’s Weekly wrote a beautiful obituary of Barbara Park.  She will be missed by many!