Beverly Cleary

Hello! My name is Beverly, and I wrote stories about kids just like you. I was born on April 12th, 1916, in a little town in Oregon. For the first few years of my life, I lived on a farm in a town called Yamhill. We didn't have a library, and there weren't many other children to play with. So, books became my best friends! My mother knew how much I loved stories, so she made sure we had books sent to our house. I would spend hours getting lost in their pages.

When I was six years old, my family moved to a big city called Portland. I was excited for school, but reading was suddenly very hard for me. The books we had to read weren't very interesting, and I struggled. But soon, I became a great reader and the library became my favorite place. One day, a librarian told me I should write books for children when I grew up. That idea stuck with me. I thought about all the kids who, like me, wanted to read funny stories about real life.

After I grew up, I became a librarian myself! Children would often come to me and ask, 'Where are the books about kids like us?' I knew exactly how they felt. So, in 1950, I sat down and wrote my very first book, 'Henry Huggins.' Henry was a regular kid who lived on a street called Klickitat Street, and he had a funny dog named Ribsy. Soon after, I created one of my most famous characters, Ramona Quimby. She was the spunky, messy, and hilarious little sister of Henry's friend Beezus. I loved writing about Ramona's adventures because she always tried her best, even when she was making a big mess!

I wrote more than 40 books about Henry, Ramona, and other wonderful characters like a mouse who rides a motorcycle. My biggest wish was to make children laugh and feel understood. I lived a very long and happy life, all the way to be 104 years old. Even though I'm not here anymore, my stories are. I hope that when you read about Ramona's adventures or Henry's funny problems, you see a little bit of yourself and remember that your story is important, too.