Author Focus: Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary, the author of the Ramona book series and the Henry Huggins books series, was born on April 12th, 1916 in McMinnville, Oregon. She was born Beverly Atlee Bunn, in a town so tiny there was not even a library. She took a librarian's advice to 'become a children's writer when she grew up'. Beverly attended Chaffey College in Ontario, California in 1934, and earned an Associate of Arts degree. She became a librarian and attended the University of California at Berkeley where she earned a B.A. in English in 1938. She went on to earn a library science degree in 1939 from the University of Washington. Her first book Henry Huggins was published in 1950.

Part of Beverly Cleary's passion for writing children's stories was due to her compassion for young people who struggle with their reading skills. She found many of the 'required' reading books boring, and wanted to write books that children would enjoy reading, and characters that children would identify with.
Beverly Cleary has said that she found inspiration for her characters from her real life experiences.
Beverly Cleary married Clarence Cleary in 1940. They eloped because her parents wanted her to marry someone else.
There are statues of several of Beverly Cleary's characters in Portland, Oregon's Grant Park. Beverly grew up nearby. Ribsy the dog, Henry Huggins, and Ramona Quimby statues were unveiled there in 1995.
The Ramona book series featured a little girl named Ramona, and characters such as Beezus, Mr. Robert Quimby, Mrs. Dorothy Quimby, Roberta, Beatrice, Howie, and Picky. There were eight books published in this series.
The Henry Huggins series, which came before Ramona Quimby, featured characters such as Ribsy the dog, Robert, Scooter McCarthy, Byron Murphy, Mary Jane, the Grumbles, and Beezus and Ramona Quimby. There were six books published in this series.
Beverly Cleary has said that she would often write while baking bread. She would use the bread's rising time to write.
There is a school named after her. It's called Beverly Cleary School. It is located in Oregon.
Beverly Cleary and her husband Clarence had two children together.
Beverly Cleary's husband Clarence passed away in 2004. They had been married since 1940.
April 12th is D.E.A.R. Day. The publisher Harper Collins recognizes this day, which means Drop Everything and Read Day, in honor of Beverly Cleary's birthday.
Beverly Cleary was declared a 'Living Legend' by the Library of Congress in 2000 because of her contributions to America's literature.
Beverly Cleary has won more than 35 awards including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the National Medal of Arts.
In 1984 Beverly Cleary was awarded the Newbery Medal for her book Dear Mr. Henshaw.
A 10 part mini-series was made in Canada in 1988 called Ramona. A movie titled Ramona and Beezus was made in 2010.
Beverly Cleary has said that she believes the best writing is simple writing. It was advice given to her by her mother.