Since I was six years old, I've enjoyed and appreciated each book that Barbara Park has written. Hearing about her recent death, shocked me deeply. She had recently passed away on November 15, 2013, after a long fight against ovarian cancer. Barbara was as strong and brave as the main character of her Junie B. Jones series. Junie B. tought me how to stand up for what I believe in throughout my childhood. I remember picking up books by Barbara Park and thinking how humorous they were. After finishing each book, I felt accomplished.

The books I've read by this author are "Junie B., First Grader (at last!)," "Junie B., First Grader Dumb Bunny," "Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business," "Junie B. Jones is Captain Field Day," "Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal," and "Junie B. Jones is (almost) a Flower Girl." Some recurring characters in Barbara's work are humorous kids with distinct personalities. For example, in Barbara's Junie B. Jones series, the main character is a sassy little girl who tries to act like an adult. Her personality brings joy to readers as they go through a humorous adventure and discover meanings of words and phrases. In each of Barbara's book, whether they're from her Junie B. Jones series, or her most popular book, Skinnybones, each main character goes through numerous and unique events. Most of the events take place at school, but the same message is repeated throughout each book. Characters learn that they can't always get what they want, sometimes things change so they just have to go with the flow, and that you should always stand up for yourself. Many characters in her books are confident. This is a way of showing young kids that they should also be confident and learn how to stick up for themselves.

Children enjoy Barbara Park's work because the characters are realistic, humorous, and relatable. The words that she uses are simple, but at the same time challenges the reader as she uses multiple phrases. Throughout her Junie B. Jones series, Junie B. is very sarcastic and loves to use phrases. Sometimes she says the phrase wrong. For example, in Barbara's book, "Junie B., First Grader (at last!)," Junie stated, "But today I am dropping her like a hot tomato!" What she meant to say was hot potato. These silly mistakes brings laughter to children as they learn the meanings of them and the correct way to say them. What children like most about her books are the relatable conflicts that the characters are introduced to. Some books involves a character getting bullied, having a new sibling, or getting glasses. After a child reads these books, they can learn how to react to these problems because they're not alone.

As a teenager, I reacted differently to the books compared to when I read them when I was younger because now I understand the deeper meanings. The character Junie B., used to be my role model because I wanted to be as stylish, sassy, and confident as she was. I used to think that she was perfect, as I only focused on the jokes and the silly mistakes that took place throughout the books. As a teenager, I realize that Junie isn't perfect as I assumed. Just like me, she's been abandoned by her best friends, felt lonely at times, made embarrassing mistakes, and suffered consequences. Now I realize that this helped me grow and be the person who I am today. Junie has showed me that there's always a bright side to a sad event.