Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary (born
April 12,
1916) is the author of over 30 books for young adults and children. Her characters are normal children facing challenges that many children face growing up, and her stories are liberally laced with humour. Some of her best known and loved characters are
Ramona Quimby,
Henry Huggins, and
Ralph S. Mouse.
Beverly Cleary was born
Beverly Atlee Bunn in
McMinnville,
Oregon. When she was 6, her family moved to
Portland, Oregon, where she attended school. She was slow in learning to read, due partly to her dissatisfaction with the books she was required to read and partly to an unpleasant first grade teacher. It wasn't until her third grade year that she found enjoyment from books, when she started reading
The Dutch Twins by
Lucy Fitch Perkins. Thereafter, she was a frequent visitor to the library, though she rarely found the books she most wanted to read â€" those about children like herself.
She moved to
California to attend the
University of California, Berkeley, and after graduation with a
B.A in English in 1938, studied at the School of Librarianship at the
University of Washington in
Seattle, where she earned a degree in
librarianship in 1939. Her first job was as a librarian in
Yakima,
Washington, where she met many children who were searching for the same books that she had always hoped to find as a child herself. In response, she wrote her first book,
Henry Huggins, which was published in
1950.
In
1940 she married Clarence Cleary and moved back to California. The Clearys became parents to a set of twins, Marianne Elisabeth and Malcolm James, in
1955. Clarence Cleary died in
2004. Beverly Cleary currently lives in
Carmel,
California.
She has also written two auto-biographies,
A Girl from Yamhill and
My Own Two Feet.
Her books are available in 14 languages in over 20 countries. She has won many awards, including the
1984 Newbery Medal for her book
Dear Mr. Henshaw and the
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in
1975. Cleary received the
Library of Congress Living Legends award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage.
The Hollywood branch of the
Multnomah County library, near where she lived as a child, has created a map on their lobby wall of Henry Huggins'
Klickitat Street neighborhood. Statues of her beloved characters Ramona, Henry Huggins, and Huggins' dog Ribsy can be found in Grant Park in Portland, Oregon.
In 2004, the University of Washington's Information School completed fundraising for a Beverly Cleary Endowed Chair for Children and Youth Services to honor her work and commitment to
librarianship.
She has a residential hall at University of California, Berkeley named after her.
Henry Huggins (illus. by Louis Darling) 1950
Ellen Tebbits (illus. by Louis Darling) 1951
Henry and Beezus (illus. by Louis Darling) 1952
Otis Spofford (illus. by Louis Darling) 1953
Henry and Ribsy (illus. by Louis Darling) 1954
Beezus and Ramona (illus. by Louis Darling) 1955
Fifteen (illus. by Joe and Beth Krush) 1956
Henry and the Paper Route (illus. by Louis Darling) 1957
The Luckiest Girl 1958
Jean and Johnny (illus. by Joe and Beth Krush) 1959
Henry and the Clubhouse (illus. by Louis Darling) 1962
Sister of the Bride (illus. by Joe and Beth Krush) 1963
Ribsy (illus. by Louis Darling) 1964
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (illus. by Louis Darling) 1965
Mitch and Amy (illus. by Bob Marstall) 1967
Ramona the Pest (illus. by Louis Darling) 1968
Runaway Ralph (illus. by Louis Darling) 1970
Socks (illus. by Beatrice Darwin) 1973
Ramona the Brave (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) 1975
Ramona and Her Father (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) 1977
Ramona and Her Mother (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) 1979
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) 1981
Ralph S. Mouse (illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky) 1982
Dear Mr. Henshaw (illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky) 1983
Ramona Forever (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) 1984
Lucky Chuck (illus. by J. Winslow Higginbottom) 1984
A Girl from Yamhill: A Memoir 1988
Muggie Maggie (illus. by Kay Life) 1990
Strider (illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky) 1991
Petey's Bedtime Story (illus. by David Small) 1993
My Own Two Feet 1995
The Hullabaloo ABC (illus. by Ted Rand) 1998
Ramona's World (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) 1999
*
Grant Park statues*
The world of Beverly Cleary*
Educational Paperback Assn. author profile
