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I remember Junie B. Jones books from when I was a kid! I’m excited to explore a little more about the brains behind the fun character Junie B. and participate in Booking Across the USA!

Barbara Park is the brains behind the hilarious children's book character Junie B. Jones. Learn more about them both on ChildLedLife.com

For Booking Across the USA I chose to highlight an author from Arizona. I was born in Arizona and love the state’s beauty. I wanted to find a good children’s book author and came across Barbara Park. Learning more about her and her naturally humorous whit has brought a smile to my face as I see the love Barbara had for her writing and making others laugh.

Barbara Park

Barbara Park is the hilarious brains behind the well known children's book character, Junie B. Jones. Find out more about her and Junie B. on ChildLedLife.com

Barbara was born in 1947 in New Jersey, but spent a majority of her life in Arizona. There she raised her sons and activity participated in her grandsons’ lives. In high school she felt she had a calling for humor writing and went on to get a college degree. After submitting several manuscripts to Young Readers, her first books were published in the early 1980’s.  Don’t Make Me Smile became the first book Barbara had published over the course of several decades of writing.

Barbara died in 2013 after many years of battling ovarian cancer. While going through chemotherapy with other women, she was one of the founders of Sisters in Survival (“SIS”). This nonprofit organization offers financial assistance to those that are battling ovarian cancer. If you would like to support the mission Barbara started, you can find more information at Sisters in Survival.

Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying

Junie B. Jones is Barbara Park’s most popular fictional character. Juniper Beatrice “Junie B.” Jones made her debut in the Junie B. Jones book series in 1992. Since then there have been 27 books published about Junie B. and there are plans for many more.

Junie B. is a kindergartner then a first grader in her series. She is fun and outrageous much like her creator, Barbara. Junie B.’s character was created to put a smile on every child’s face and make reading fun!

The fourth book in the Junie B. Jones series is Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying. The kids and I decided to read this book aloud until Samuel finishes his reading program. Such a fun book to read to children that are not reading yet! This books is listed as a beginning reader book for young readers and you can find it in many series packs or on it’s own on Amazon.

In Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying, Junie B. decides to spy on her teacher, Grandpa, and little brother. It’s all fun an games until she could get in real trouble! You will laugh the whole way as your children read this hilarious book.

Fun with Junie B.

After reading Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying, I decided to find some fun activities for the kids.

Fun activities to explore Junie B. Jones! Learn more about Barbara Park too on ChildLedLife.com

First, we played a classic game of hide and seek. Just like Junie B. Jones hid from her Grandpa and teacher, the kids hide from each other. Such a fun hands on game to help the kids understand being sneaky!

Junie B. Jones has her own website with online games, printable work, and lots of fun kindergartner antics. There are several other sites with extension activities for Junie B. Jones. I found a site that has a Junie B. Jones printable pack. The kids and I worked through this pack to have a little more fun with Junie B.

Playing with paper dolls to learn more about Junie B. Jones. Learn more about Barbara Park too on ChildLedLife.com

Avalyn really loves paper dolls and had a lot of fun dressing Junie B. in all sorts of funny attire.

Free printable mazes to learn more about Junie B. Jones. Learn more about Barbara Park too on ChildLedLife.com

Samuel has found a new love for mazes. This Junie B. Jones maze was a great activity for him!

Booking Across the USA

Check in on the other featured authors on bloggers from across the USA!

Booking Across the USA. Arizona with Barbara Park on ChildLedLife.com

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