Beverly Cleary

Hello! My name is Beverly Cleary. I was a little girl who loved to play. I lived on a big farm in a place called Oregon. I loved playing outside in the sunshine and the rain. When I was old enough, I went to school. At school, I had to read books, but the books were not very much fun. The stories were not about kids like me. This made me feel a little sad because I wanted to read about children who had everyday adventures.

I grew up and became a librarian because I still loved stories and wanted to help children find books they would love. I worked in a big library filled with all kinds of books. One day, a little boy came into my library. He looked all around and then he asked me, “Where are the books about kids like us?” That question made me think. It gave me a wonderful idea! I decided that I would be the one to write books about regular kids, just like him and just like I used to be.

So, I started to write! My very first book was about a boy named Henry Huggins. Henry had a funny dog named Ribsy, and they had lots of adventures together. After that, I created one of my most famous friends, a spunky and silly little girl named Ramona Quimby. It was so much fun to imagine all the things Henry and Ramona would do. All of their adventures happened on a street I made up called Klickitat Street. I loved writing about their funny, everyday lives.

I wrote many, many books for children just like you. I lived to be 104 years old! My greatest joy was knowing that my stories made children laugh and helped them learn to love reading. I hope my books make you laugh, too, and show you that stories about everyday kids can be the most fun of all.