Beverly Cleary

Hello, my name is Beverly Cleary, and I wrote stories for children. My own story began on April 12th, 1916, when I was born in a town called McMinnville, Oregon. For the first few years of my life, I lived on a cozy farm in a very small town named Yamhill. It was a lovely place to grow up, but it was so small that it didn't even have a library. My mother loved books, and she would read wonderful stories to me every day. I adored listening to the adventures she shared. But when I started school, something surprising happened. I found learning to read very difficult, and the books they gave us were so boring. They were filled with dull stories that didn't feel exciting or real to me at all. I knew there had to be more to reading than this.

When I was a little older, my family moved to the big city of Portland, Oregon. It was there that my life changed forever. At my new school, a kind and thoughtful librarian saw that I was struggling to find something I liked to read. She took the time to help me search the shelves, and soon she handed me books filled with characters and adventures I truly enjoyed. It felt like a whole new world opened up. That experience was a turning point for me. Right then and there, I decided that I wanted to become a librarian, too. I wanted to be the person who helped other children discover the magic of a good book. I worked hard in school and went to college at the University of California, Berkeley. After that, I studied to become a librarian at the University of Washington, and I graduated with my degree in 1939.

My first job as a children's librarian was in a city called Yakima, in Washington. Every day, children would come into the library looking for a good story. I loved helping them, but I started to notice something. Many of the kids, especially the boys, couldn't find books they wanted to read. They told me the stories were about children who lived long ago or had magical adventures. They wanted to read about kids who were just like them—kids who lived in regular neighborhoods, rode their bikes, had pets, and got into a little bit of trouble sometimes. I will never forget the day a young boy looked up at me and asked, 'Where are the books about kids like us?'. That simple question stuck with me. It was a very important year for me in another way, too. In 1940, I married my wonderful husband, Clarence Cleary. His support gave me the courage to think about answering that little boy's question myself.

That boy's question sparked an idea that I couldn't shake. I decided that if the books he wanted didn't exist, I would have to write them. I sat down and started writing my very first book, which was called 'Henry Huggins.' It was published in 1950. My goal was to write funny, realistic stories that children could see themselves in. Henry was a regular kid who lived on Klickitat Street—a real street in Portland where I grew up. In Henry's stories, I introduced other characters who would soon become famous, like his friend Beezus Quimby and her unforgettable, energetic little sister, Ramona. Ramona was noisy, messy, and always full of big feelings, and children seemed to love her right away. I didn't have to invent wild fantasies for my stories. I got my ideas from listening to the children I knew and watching the world around me. The everyday lives of kids were full of enough adventure for a book.

I continued writing books for many, many years. It was a joy to create stories about the kids on Klickitat Street, and Ramona Quimby grew up right on the page, becoming one of my most beloved characters. Readers followed her from nursery school all the way through fourth grade. It was a wonderful feeling to know my stories were making children laugh. In 1984, I received a very special honor called the Newbery Medal for my book 'Dear Mr. Henshaw.' I lived to be 104 years old, and my greatest joy was knowing that my books helped children love reading and feel understood. I hope my stories continue to make kids laugh and feel like their own lives are full of adventure.