Barbara Park

Barbara Park
Born	Barbara Lynne Tidswell (1947-04-21)April 21, 1947 Mount Holly, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	November 15, 2013(2013-11-15) (aged 66) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Author
Nationality	American
Genre	Children's literature
Notable works	Junie B. Jones
Spouse	Richard A. Park ​ (m. 1969)​
Children	2

Barbara Lynne Park (née Tidswell; April 21, 1947 – November 15, 2013) was an American author of children's books.

Early life

Barbara Lynne Tidswell was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, on April 21, 1947. She was the daughter of a merchant and a secretary, Doris and Brooke Tidswell, and she had one older brother. Park graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in 1965.

Tidswell began her post-secondary education at Rider College in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. She then went to the University of Alabama where she graduated in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in history and political science. Her intention was to become a high school history teacher, but she lost interest in teaching after spending a year as a student teacher in a seventh grade class. Tiswell married Richard A. Park in 1969 and had two sons, Steven and David. She lived in Phoenix, Arizona for about 30 years.

Writing career

Further information: Bibliography of Barbara Park

Barbara Park began writing while she was raising her children as a way to express her sense of humor. Because she was home with children while writing, she was able to adapt their speech patterns and behaviors into her work to write child characters. The first children's book Park sent to publishers was Operation: Dump the Chump. The manuscript was accepted by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. after three other publishers passed on it, and she entered into a three-book deal with them. The first of her books to be published by Knopf was Don't Make Me Smile in 1981. The book addressed divorce from the perspective of a 10-year-old boy whose parents were separating. The following year, Knopf published her two other books, Operation: Dump the Chump and Skinnybones.

Park began publishing the Junie B. Jones chapter books in 1992, starting with Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. Unlike her previous works, this was targeted at younger children. Junie B. Jones was Park's most well-known work, and the series was controversial and frequently challenged because of the titular character's poor behavior and bad grammar. She worked with the illustrator Denise Brunkus.

Park published a novel, Mick Harte Was Here, in 1995. It told a story about the death of a sibling, and encouraged children to wear helmets when riding a bicycle.

Park developed a reputation for dealing with serious subject matter in a lighthearted way. She cited Judy Blume as an influence—Blume in turn complimented the Junie B. Jones series and has sometimes been mistaken as their writer.

Park won seven Children's Choice Awards and four Parents' Choice Awards. She rejected the idea that children's books must teach morals, instead seeing simple entertainment as a legitimate purpose for a children's book. Park refused to allow adaptations of her work outside of stage plays because she wished to be involved with any adaptation personally and plays were the only type she felt she had time for.

Park sometimes met children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Park was afflicted with ovarian cancer, which she had for approximately seven years. She and her husband founded a nonprofit for women with ovarian cancer, Sisters in Survival. She died on November 15, 2013, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

External links

• Junie B. Jones at publisher Random House
• Barbara Park at Library of Congress, with 57 library catalog records 1981–2013