Junie B. Jones #18: First Grader (at last!)

Denise Brunkus is a children’s book illustrator. She has illustrated more than 60 books, including the wildly popular Junie B. Jones series and Read All About It! by Laura and Jenna Bush.

Barbara Park was best-known as the creator and author of the New York Times bestselling Junie B. Jones series, the stories of an outrageously funny kindergartener that have kept kids (and their grownups) laughing—and reading—for over two decades. The series was consistently a #1 New York Times bestseller, spending over 180 weeks on the list, and Barbara and her books were profiled in such national outlets as Time, Newsweek, USA Today, the New York Times, and Today. Barbara Park arrived at the writing profession through an indirect route. Before becoming a bestselling and beloved children’s author, she originally intended to teach high school history and political science. She got her secondary education degree but quickly realized that her calling was to be a writer.  After several rejections, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers acquired…